Heart of a Gear: Version II
by Xardion
Summary: A rewrite of a favored fanfic. Ky is hurt and Dizzy takes care of him. Please R&R.
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: I do not own GG, GGX, or GGXX or any of the character therein.

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_AN:Ever look back on your old fanfics and say, I could write this better now. Well, this is me, rewriting this particular piece. Enjoy._

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Introduction

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_Light..._

It was the first thing he became aware, which was shortly followed by pain. _'Odd'_, he thought. _'Shouldn't the pain come before?'_ Guess it didn't matter. At least he was still alive. Moisture was soon sensed on his forehead, coming from what he believed must have been a damp cloth. Oddly again, this prompted him to open his eyes. His vision was blurry, but it was more than enough to realize that he was no longer where he was before.

For starters, the last thing he remembered was that he was outside. But his vision was well enough to make out a ceiling, with a light coming in from a nearby window. Also, the softness that cushioned his back and head wasn't grass and dirt, but a bed and pillow. On reflex, he started to rise, but two things halted his progress.

The pain that pressured in against him...

And the soft voice that responded to his action…

"Please don't. You're still hurt pretty badly."

Vision becoming clearer, the young man tilted his head toward the source of the voice. Judging from it and the silhouette, the person was female, who was seated beside him. But who? Though there was light, there wasn't enough of it to make her out. _'But...her voice... I know this voice...'_ A delicate hand reached forward to gently press him back into the bed. The man didn't (or couldn't) resist and settled back, a light moan escaping his throat.

"Where...am I?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Kiske. You're safe." The hand moved up to the damp cloth and replaced it with a fresh one. "When we found you, you were pretty...uh, what the word? Banged up."

Ky felt himself sigh. Considering what had happened to him, he was surprised that he was still alive. _But how long was he out? Where was here? And how did this person know who he was?_ These and other question flooded his mind, but exhaustion began to come over him, allowing him to ask only one of those questions.

"Who...are you?"

The silhouette leaned forward into the light, revealing azure hair tied in a bandana atop a soft, innocent face. Pinkish, red eyes gleamed down lightly at him. Ky blinked, knowing that he was slowly losing to exhaustion, but not before he was able to whisper out.

"Dizzy...the gear..."

"Yes."


	2. I

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

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Chap. 1

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_(Back, a few days ago)_

_"Captain. We're picking up a large energy surge. It could be an explosion."_

_On the bridge of the Mayship pirate vessel, Johnny sauntered over toward the front of the bridge toward the orange-clad girl that made the announcement. Beneath his shades, his eyes focused in on the radar monitor._

_"Where?"_

_"Bearing 1683. That's not too far away." Turning to Johnny, she added. "Are we going to check it out?"_

_The dark-clad captain nodded and turned to the pilot. "March, head for bearing 1683. I'll check it out. May, you're in charge."_

_"Can I come?"_

_Johnny blinked as he turned around to see Dizzy standing behind him. He had not even realized that the young gear had been standing there. "I'm afraid not, Dizzy. I don't know what down there."_

_"I'll be really careful."_

_The captain felt himself frown at this. Without knowing the situation, he could be putting Dizzy in harms' way. The last thing he needed was an incident like what happened when the ship fell under attack, which resulted in Dizzy falling off the side of it. And if that wasn't bad enough, Testament found out about it and nearly killed him for it._

_Just lucky he found her before things got out of hand... _

_"Yeah. Come on, Johnny."_

_He turned to May, who was giving him an innocent/cutesy look, and groaned. He was quite familiar with this look and he was not going to fall for it this time. But when he turned to Dizzy and saw she was giving him a similar look, he lowered his head. 'Figures she'd learn that from her.'_

_"Please."_

_Johnny sighed, taking note of her quiet plead. Dizzy may have been cooped on the ship for too long. Ever since that incident, he made sure to keep her out of trouble. But perhaps he may gone a little overboard. He may have wanted to keep her safe, but he couldn't treat her like a prisoner._

_"Okay. But stay behind me, okay. If there's any trouble, just leave to me."_

_With a smile, Dizzy nodded a 'thank you' to him. Grabbing his sword, Johnny just shook his head as he walked with Dizzy toward the dropships._

_'Somehow, I'm going to regret this.'_

_And he did. Upon arriving at the coordinates, Johnny and Dizzy discovered a large crater in the middle of what was now a charred wasteland. Trees, or what remained of them, were toppled and scattered all over the place. And if that wasn't enough, both of them sensed a strange energy emanating from the site itself._

_"That energy..."_

_Johnny nodded to her. "Yeah, I know."_

_Even though it was found a couple of minutes ago, the magic level was still strong, rippling the air somewhat. Considering the damage to the area, it wasn't that much of a surprise. And he had a good guess as to what caused it._

_"Must have been one heck of a battle here."_

_Meanwhile, Dizzy continued to scan the area. She took a particular note of the fallen trees that were around her. Dizzy has always been a lover of nature and seeing the destroyed trees made her sad. It was then that her eyes caught sight of something else._

_"Johnny! Look!"_

_Rushing over, Johnny looked over at what she was pointing at and his eyes lifted above his glasses at what he saw. A human body lay beside one of the fallen trees. Upon closer inspection, Johnny saw that it was a male, whose white garments were shredded and covered in burn marks and tatters of blood. Johnny recognized him almost immediately._

_"Ky Kiske."_

_Moving closer to him, Dizzy bent down to him; her hand brushing away one of his locks of blond hair, which was mattered and dusty. She remembered her first meeting with the former holy knight-now police officer. It was during the time when the bounty on her was in effect. Ky had been one of many to investigate the matter and one of the few to actually confront Dizzy...in battle._

_Her attention was drawn back to her hand, which had settled onto his chest. Blinking, she soon realized what she was suddenly feeling. It was faint, but she could definitely make out a heartbeat._

_"He's still alive."_

* * *

"...And that's how we found you." Dizzy finished

"I see." Ky replied after hearing the entire story. His eyes closed briefly before opening again. "I guess...he's not so bad...for a pirate."

"No. But..."

"But?"

Taking the cloth that was on his head, she began to rinse it in the bowl of water. "He said that as soon as you are well enough, you'll have to go."

_'Of course.'_ Ky thought. Even if he did help him, Johnny was still a wanted person. He probably didn't trust Ky enough to think that he wouldn't turn him in afterward

"I understand. In any case...thank you..."

Placing the cloth back on his head, Dizzy smiled. "You're welcome. Now get some rest."

Rising up, the young gear left Ky to rest. Exiting the room, she found Johnny standing on the wall just outside. Nodding a good night to him, Dizzy moved on, leaving Johnny by himself. The pirate captain glanced over at the door where their guest was now resting.

_'I hope this was a good idea.'_


	3. II

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

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Chap. 2

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In the kitchen of the Mayship, Dizzy was busing herself in making tea for their injured guest. Since she came on board, the crewmates had taught her how to do a wide variety of tasks, most of which was maintenance type things, such as laundry, cleaning and the occasional nurse. Cooking was a new skill that she was learning lately, thanks to May and April, so she felt really excited to try to make something for someone new, even if it was something as simple as a cup of tea and a tray of biscuits.

"Hey Dizzy. Working hard I see."

Turning around, she saw April enter into the kitchen and smiled at her comment. "Mmhm. I made this for Mr. Kiske to help him get better."

April returned the smile. "Hm, that looks good! I'm sure he'll get a lot better."

With a nod, Dizzy exited the kitchen with the tray of food in her hand as she made her way toward Ky's room. But just as she reached the door, a loud slam could be heard within. Startled, the young gear opened the door and entered inside, where she found a strange sight.

"Mr. Kiske?"

The said officer was attempting to rise up from the bed, having pushed over a nearby chair in the process. The bandages that were covering his body exposed, some of which were now slowly beginning to leak with blood. On top of that, his face was soaked with sweat, his breathing labored, and his face paniced.

"Fuuraiken! Where is my Fuuraiken!"

"Please." Dizzy began, placing the tray of food down. "You have to lie back down."

But Ky wouldn't listen to her and he continued to ramble on. Just then, Johnny and June appeared behind Dizzy, taking in the scene as well.

"What's going on?"

"Where is it!" Ky roared.

_'What's he talking ab...'_ Johnny's thoughts were soon interrupted when he saw Dizzy grow tense and rigid. Her arms lifted up around her waist, somewhat hugging herself. Ignoring Ky for the moment, Johnny directed his full attention to the gear.

"Dizzy, what is it?"

"It...It's okay. It's okay." she whispered, mostly to herself. She could sense Necro's power and presence growing within her, reacting to Ky's outbursts. Johnny watched as Dizzy slowly began to relax and after a long moment, she nodded to the captain. "It's okay."

Johnny let out a sigh of relief. The last thing he needed was for Dizzy's powers to go out of control. He had seen the destruction she was capable of first hand and he did not want that to happen, especially on the ship. Dizzy could hurt some of the others around her, her friends, and probably even herself too. And the ship would more than likely be severely damaged in such an unleashing. But she had said she was learning to control it and it showed here.

"Oh no! Quick, help me get him back in bed!"

Returning his attention back, Johnny saw that Ky had suddenly slump down to the floor. June had moved in first to catch him and it was then that she had called out, nearly falling down herself. Johnny rushed in to help his nurse and when he grabbed hold of Ky, he immediately understood her urgency.

_'This kid's practically burning up!'_

"Dizzy, quick! Get me some cold water."

* * *

"What happened?"

"He has a fever." June explained. "It's pretty high too, which is probably why he was ranting earlier. He was hallucinating."

Dizzy cast a worried glance at the now-resting man. "Will he be okay?"

The nurse sighed. "It's too early to say, but I think he'll recover. It'll take some time though."

Johnny nodded. "Keep me informed."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving the two women behind. June sighed before turning back to Ky, only to see Dizzy sit down beside him and begin to replace the cloth on his head. Despite being unconscious, Ky was far from being at rest. His face and neck was still quite warm and he seemed to be struggling in his sleep.

"Shhh..." Dizzy whispered soothingly as she placed the cloth back on his forehead. "It's okay. You'll be okay."

Ky seemed to have heard her, because his struggling subsided somewhat and his face relaxed a bit as well. Seeing this, June bent down and smiled at her fellow crewmate.

"Wow. You're pretty good at this. Trying to take my job, Dizzy?"

Dizzy shook her head. "No, no! I was just..."

"Don't worry." June chuckled. "I was just kidding. But you are doing a good job here." Standing back upright, the nurse continued. "Could you watch him for a bit? I'm going to grab some more medication for him and then I'll be right back."

"Okay."

June took off, leaving Dizzy with their sick patient. Dizzy continued to whisper to him, keeping him relaxed and as comfortable as possible. He didn't relax completely at first, but his trembling did subside greatly and his face relaxed. Soon enough, he had quieted down, completely at rest. June returned with the medicine and dismissed Dizzy, who nodded in return and began to take her leave. But before she left completely, she looked back and gave the resting man a smile.

_'I hope you get better...'_


	4. III

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

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Chap. 3

_

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__Void..._

_'Where... What...is...this place...?'_

_There was nothing but darkness as far as his eyes could see. And there were sounds. Faint, indistinguishable, at least at first. But it soon began to grow louder and more distinct, becoming sounds he was all too familiar with it._

_Screams..._

_He whirled his head abut, trying to locate the source. But they seemed to be coming from everywhere. Screams of terror and pain echoed all around. He lifted his hands up to his ears and shut his eyes tightly, trying to block out the ever increasing sounds. But despite his efforts, they continued to resound in his mind._

_'What is this?'_

_**"Destroy them all."**_

_'That voice!' Eyes opening, Ky looked around to find himself surrounded by flames. Houses were ablaze as the fire consumed everything. In the distance, Ky saw a figure standing amid the flames. A tall, white armored creature with hair as fiery as the flames that surrounded it. A creature Ky knew all too well._

_"Justice!"_

_The commander gear slowly turned toward the officer, sinister eyes settling upon him and a dark chuckle escaping her throat. Various other shadows soon flanked around her, stabbing at the ground and tossing into the flames what Ky recognized as human bodies. Enraged, Ky moved his hand to grab hold of his sword, only to find that it wasn't there. Whirling about, he couldn't find his weapon anywhere on his person or in sight._

_**Krrrrkkkk!**_

_Suddenly, a deformed arm lurched out of the ground and grabbed hold of his leg. As Ky turned to look in surprise, another hand shot out and grabbed his other leg. In moments, more hands came out and grabbed Ky in various areas of his body. Ky tried to fight them off, but their grip held and they slowly began to drag him down into the ground. The laughter of Justice continued on and screams resounded with them as Ky desperately reached out into the sky to grab something...anything, to stop him from sinking._

_And then his hand took hold of something..._

_It was another hand, he felt that clearly enough. However, it was very different from his own. It was soft, easily delicate. Yet it held him securely and firmly, pulling him out of the sea of grotesque limbs. Ky tried to look up at his rescuer, but a bright light from behind obscured his vision. But it didn't stop him from gasping at the sight. He couldn't make it out clearly, but he was certain of the shape._

_Wings..._

* * *

"Mr. Kiske..."

Sitting beside him once again, Dizzy continued to try and soothe Ky. It was nightfall now and Ky had been sleeping throughout the remainder of the day. But it wasn't a peaceful sleep as those who checked on him could attest to. In fact, if not for the medicine he received, it would have been doubtful that he would be asleep at all. Oftentimes, his head would thrash about and his face would twist in discomfort.

Such was the case now as Dizzy took her turn to watch over him. She had seen like this already, but he seemed to be in greater duress that than before. Once again, Dizzy moved to replace the cloth on his head. His fever had fallen, but his head was still quite warm. Just as she was about to place the cool cloth back on his head, his mouth began moving. No words were coming out, but the agitation on his face increased.

_'A nightmare...?'_

Dizzy remained still as she watched Ky beginning the thrash about in his sleep, but only at first. Lowering the cloth, she instead reached to his face and placed her hand on his cheek, hoping to slowly wake him up out of his dream. Soon enough, he began to grow still and his eyes opened; half-lidded and gazing up at her dazedly.

"Are...you...an angel?"

Dizzy blinked. _'An...angel...?'_ She looked at the young man questioningly. _'Maybe he is still sick, like before.'_ Her hand began to lift from his cheek, but she was surprised when his hand weakly lifted up and took hold of her arm.

"Please...don't..." he choked.

The gear blinked and took a slow glance at his hand, which was still gripped to her arm. It wasn't threatening in any way, but Dizzy felt...unsure. She didn't understand why he was reacting this way to her. Reaching to his hand, she softly pried it off her arm and rested it back on the bed. But before moving her other hand away, she lightly brushed it against his cheek

"Just rest now. I'll be here."

That seemed to be enough because Ky's eyes soon closed again and he fell back to sleep. His slumber seemed to be restful this time and Dizzy quietly rose up to leave. But upon standing up, she found herself reaching to his cheek again. Ky didn't react the same way as before, but his face did tilt into her palm, and a contented smile grazed his feature. Once again, she was unsure about his actions. But even more, she was confused about _her_ own actions.

And yet, she didn't move away from him for awhile...

* * *

"May?"

The next morning, Dizzy went in search of the Mayship's second-in-command. Currently, she was in her quarters, a nice room half covered with teddy bears and other such toys. For many, it was hard to believe that such a child was a capable fighter and commander and seeing her room did little to enforce that idea. But Dizzy knew all too well of her friend's strength of will and character, which is what she was hoping for a little of now.

"Hey, Dizzy." May replied cheerfully to her guest. "What's up?"

Slinging her tail to the side, Dizzy sat down on one of the bigger teddy bears. She wasn't sure why, but she started to feel uncomfortable about speaking right now. Her hands folded together as she began to speak.

"What is...an angel?"

May blinked at the question. "An angel?"

The young gear nodded her head. "Yes. Last night, Ky woke up and he wondered if I was an angel."

May's eyes widened and a huge smile came over her face. "Really? That is so sweet!"

Now Dizzy was confused. _'Sweet? What does she mean?'_ But as these thoughts went about her head, May continued on, her smile fading a bit as her eyes lifted in afterthought.

"Oh. But he was still sick. And you said he had just woken up. He must have been dreaming."

"Perhaps." Dizzy replied, breaking through her friend's rant. "But I would still like to know."

"Honestly, I'm not really sure." she answered in resignation. "I only know that some people use it when they're talking about pretty ladies." With a sigh, she added quietly to herself. "I wish Johnny could call me that."

"...Oh, really?"

Noticing that Dizzy's voice lowered, May looked back up at her and nearly gasped in delight. _'She's blushing!'_ Indeed, the cheeks of the gear were a light shade of pink. Obviously, May's statement had affected her so. _'Oh that is so cute!'_

"Maybe you should ask him." May suggested, grinning all the while. "You know, when he's a little better."

"Okay." Smiling, Dizzy rose up from her seat. "Thank you, May."

"Sure thing. Just tell me how it turns out, okay?"

"Okay. I will."

As Dizzy left, May began to giggle to herself. Ideas were already swirling in her head as she thought about her friend's current reactions as well as their sick and injured guest.

_'Too cute!'_


	5. IV

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

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Chap. 4

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The light glare of the sun beamed into the room when Ky awoke from his slumber. His head was nursing a mild throbbing headache and his body seemed to hurt more so than yesterday. _'What happened?'_ All he could remember was resting in bed, idly wondering about his sword. Then things became a jumbled mess of images, nightmares by the looks of some of them. But through it all, there was always the one image of a young woman taking care of him.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?"

Ky's thoughts were interrupted when June entered into the room. The young woman smiled as she sat down and removed the cloth in order to feel his forehead.

"I... I'm fine, I think." Ky replied.

June nodded and removed her hand. "Well, your fever's gone down. That's a good start."

"Fever?"

June blinked, first in question, then in realization. "Oh. I guess you were a bit out of it. You caught a bad fever six days ago and have been sick since. Like I said, its gone down now, but you'll be stuck in bed for quite a while because of it as well as your injuries."

_'Six...days...?'_ "Oh... I'm sorry for the inconvenience."

"No need to apologize. You're okay and that is what matters. Besides, we don't get many guests up here." The young woman smiled again. "Especially handsome-looking ones."

Ky blinked and lowered his head sheepishly at her comment and June couldn't help but giggle a bit. "Anyway, get some rest."

"Okay. Thank you."

* * *

"Hello?"

Later on in the afternoon, Dizzy came in to visit Ky in his room. Once again, she had a table tray with a bowl of soup and cup of tea. She was hoping things wouldn't happen the same way as before and was a bit hesitant at entering. But she found Ky laying in bed, looking toward the window. His face turned toward her upon her entry.

"Miss Dizzy. Hello."

"Are you feeling better?" she smiled, moving toward him.

Taking a deep breath for a moment, Ky answered. "I believe so."

"That's good to hear." Coming close to the bed and patient, the cyan-haired girl placed the table and tray on his lap. "I brought you some food."

"Ah. Thank you."

Nodding her head, Dizzy turned around to leave as Ky began eating. She was still thinking about what Ky had said the night before, but as curious as she was, she knew that it probably was better to just let Ky recover from his injuries and sickness. And she knew how her curiosity could get her in trouble sometimes.

"May I ask something?"

Pausing, Dizzy turned back around. "Sure."

"Do you...have my sword?"

"Yes." the young gear answered, her hands unconsciously clasping together in front of her. "Johnny found it with you and is holding it for safekeeping."

"Ah. I see."

"Are you upset?" Dizzy asked meekly.

"No, no." Ky quickly replied, shaking his head. "Relieved actually. I didn't want to think that I lost it." Taking a spoonful of the soup to his lips, he lightly added. "It is very special to me."

"It is?" At this point, Dizzy had taken a seat in the chair beside the bed; her curiosity now aroused as he went on to explain.

"Yes. When I was with the Order, Sir Kliff gave it to me when I completed my training. He told me to take very special care of it, since it was a rare weapon. In fact, I think there are only five or six others like it in the entire world. To lose it..." He paused; a distant look coming over his eyes in memory. "It is irreplaceable."

"Johnny will take care of it until you get better." she assured him. "Don't you worry."

Ky gave her a curious look when she said those words. It seemed odd to him that she would have shown such an interest. After all, he was speaking about a weapon that had been used to eliminate gears; her kind, at least in part. A part of him felt guilty for bringing it up at all to her, but Dizzy showed no signs of offense. Nodding a 'thank you' to her, he then picked up the cup of tea, but stopped and looked at it.

"Is something wrong?"

Again, blond-haired young man shook his head, but his eyes remained fixed to the cup. "This is an exquisite cup. May I ask, where did you get this?"

"I don't know. May says that Johnny got it a while ago."

Ky tried not to think about how he got it, as that would be ungracious of him (even if it may be true). "This is a rare style. The one who made this must have been a master craftsman."

Vermillion eyes flashed with curiosity once again. "How can you tell?"

"Here." He held the cup up into her line of sight, careful not to spill the content or drop it entirely. "The way it curves at this angle. This shows that the craftsman had to work around the base in order..."

Realization soon dawned on him and he lowered the cup, his face beginning to flush with embarrassment. He didn't mean to go on like that about his favorite hobby, but he found that he couldn't help it.

"...I-It is a little hobby of mine, collecting teacups."

"Oh, how nice."

He lifted his head, once again regarding her. Despite her mature looks, she was only three to four years of age. That didn't mean that she wasn't capable of mature thoughts and actions. But for the most part, her initial reactions to things were childlike. That didn't help dispel much of his embarrassment, but it was enough to return his face back to its normal color. Finishing his meal and tea, Ky lifted the tray up and handed it back to the girl

"Thank you for the meal, Miss Dizzy." His eye on the cup, he then added. "You should take real good care of that."

Dizzy nodded and answered. "I will." Backing away, she then made her way toward the door, but not before she said. "Maybe we could talk again."

"That...would be nice." Ky replied, a smile lightening his features.

* * *

"So how is our guest?"

Out on the deck of the ship, Johnny and May were leaning on the railing. It was the afternoon and the sun was just beginning to descend into the horizon. The pirate captain was leaning with his back on the railing while May was looking outward at the sky.

"June says that he got over his fever, so all that's left is for his injuries to heal." May answered.

"Okay."

Looking up at him, she took notice of the contemplative look on his face, despite the fact that it was partly concealed by his hat and shades. "Is something wrong?"

"Nah. Just thinking that I'm going to have to drop by and visit him."

"Me too." she chuckled mischievously as she turned back to the clouds.

Now it was Johnny's turn to look down at her. "Did I miss something?"

"Oh, nothing." she grinned. She then went on. "Dizzy is helping to take care of him and I figured I should go see him."

"Dizzy, huh? Becoming quite the nurse, is she?"

Her grin returned. "We'll see..."

* * *

Evening soon fell and May made her way to her room to go to bed. As her usual routine, she bid everyone goodnight, starting with the night shift and moving on to those who were just heading to bed like herself. Soon enough, she made her way to Dizzy's room and opened the door.

"Dizzy?"

But the young gear was already sound asleep in her bed; her face pressed cutely upon the pillow as she slumbered. May sighed and began leave, whispering a goodnight to the sleeping Dizzy and reaching to turn out the lights, vaguely noticing something new in the room just before she did.

_A teacup on the counter next to her bed..._


	6. V

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 5

* * *

The next day started just the same as the previous one. Nurse June came in to check on his recovery and was shortly followed by Dizzy with breakfast. Once again, the two began to talk to each other. This time though, it was Dizzy who did the talking, relating to their guest on some of the activities that took place on the Mayship.

For his part, Ky was quite surprised by some of their activities. Even though they were in the business of piracy, the crew behaved much like a family. Even Johnny, while obviously a womanizer, cared for his crew a great deal. Ky, who had a begrudging respect for the pirate captain, found himself dropping the begrudging part and simply respected him. Of course, his occupation wasn't something he condoned, but Ky had heard of far worse people.

"Can I ask you a question, Mr. Kiske?"

"Please, call me Ky. And yes, you may."

"Ky..." she repeated, almost toyingly. "What is an angel?"

"An angel?" It wasn't something Ky expected her to ask about, but he was more than willing to answer her. "Angels are messengers of God. They help serve and carry out his will."

Dizzy tilted her head. "What does one look like?"

Ky smiled at her curiosity. "Well, normally they are invisible to human eyes. But there were times where they appeared to people. They are the most beautiful creatures that exist. They radiate with divine light and their wings carry the finest feathers, which they use to fly in and protect God's children."

"God's children?" she inquired.

"Those he created. Everyone here on the earth."

"Oh..."

The sad tone in her voice caught his attention. _'Have I said something wrong?'_ he thought worriedly. Vocally, he asked her. "What is it?"

"Oh, it's just..." Slowly, her head began to lower, her azure hair covering over her eyes. "I don't think that would apply to me. I'm not...well...you know...human."

"I disagree." the young man replied. "From what I see of you, your heart is very much human. And that is what matters."

"Still, I've never seen an angel come to my help."

"They can help without being seen. And there are times when they don't have to help. And also, they could help us in ways that we may not notice or realize." When Dizzy remained still, Ky leaned forward, so that his eyes was able to meet hers. This aggravated his wounds, but he endured it as he continued.

"I haven't seen one either, but there were times when I truly believed there was one helping me. It is a matter of faith."

It was only when Dizzy met his gaze did he settle back, sighing softly in relief from the pain. "Anyway, why do you ask, Miss Dizzy?"

Her spirits lifted, the young gear answered. "I was just wondering. When you were sick, you asked if I was an angel. I didn't know what you were talking about, so I wanted to know."

Ky nodded. "Ah, I see. Well, you could resemble one. With your wings and all."

"Oh..." There was a short pause and Ky thought that he might have said something wrong again and Dizzy went on to say. "So you do not think I am beautiful?"

"Huh?" Once again, Ky was caught off-guard by her question, only this time, he didn't have anything coherent to say. "Oh, well... um... you...ah..."

He stopped when he heard the sound of light giggling coming from Dizzy and he tilted his head to the side after a moment as he realized why.

"You're...teasing me?"

"A little."

Ky blinked hard, but couldn't help but smile back. He couldn't deny the playful attitude of the azure-haired girl, not with the aura of friendliness she seemed to possess. So into it they were that they didn't notice the door open and the ship's young second enter in, grinning lightly as she took in the scene.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Dizzy turned to her friend. "Oh, no. What is it?"

"It's your turn to help with laundry." May answered. "July and the kids are waiting for you."

"Oh, my. I forgot." she gasped in realization. Rising up from her seat, she bowed her head to Ky. "I have to get going."

Ky returned the gesture (at least as much as he could) "I hope we can talk again, Miss Dizzy."

The gear tilted her head (cutely). "If I can call you Ky, then you can call me Dizzy."

"Okay Dizzy."

Waving at the resting patient, Dizzy went off to go about her chores. May remained behind with Ky however, her grin settling into a light smile.

"So, how're you doing?"

"I am feeling better, thank you." Looking down at himself and lifting a hand, he placed it on his bandaged body. "My wounds shouldn't take too long to heal, so I won't be too long an inconvenience to you."

May's eyes widened and she waved her hands. "Hey now, don't push yourself. I heard how bad it was, not to mention you caught a fever too. You're not an inconvenience, so don't hurt yourself trying to make it easier for us, okay?"

"I...suppose..."

"Besides, Dizzy seems to like you here." The grin returned.

The officer didn't notice this and went on speaking. "She's been really kind to me. I appreciate her time and attention."

"I bet you do."

Ky gave her a questioning look, seeing the grin on her face turning mischievous. A part of him realized where Dizzy's teasing nature came from, while the other half, upon realizing what May was implying by that statement, became quite embarrassed. His face displayed this as it flushed slightly, much to May's enjoyment.

"Anyway, just take it easy for now." May giggled as she turned about. "I'm sure Dizzy will be back to take care of you. Bye now."

* * *

For the next three days, Dizzy had become a common presence with Ky. Normally, she would arrive either before or with Nurse June to check on his condition and then stay around afterward to talk to him, each listening to the tales of the other. Dizzy spoke more about her life as a crew member of the Jellyfish Pirates, her day-to-day activities and the sort.

Ky wasn't as vocal about his life experiences and often kept it to a minimum, partly because his life didn't sound as joyful as hers. Much of it was about his battles in the Holy War (which he made sure to refrain from speaking about it to her) and the rest was his time as an officer of the ICP. Of those, he would talk to her about, usually about some of the trips he'd taken and what he may have seen along the way. Oddly enough, she seemed to pay rapt to these and always wanted to hear more.

It was at such a moment that Johnny came to visit...

"Hey there. Getting quick there with the ladies, huh?"

The two ceased from their current talk and turned to the doorway to see the dark-clad captain. But while Dizzy gave a friendly smile to him, Ky simply kept a straight face (basically due to his earlier comment) and nodded.

"Captain."

Johnny grinned, expecting him to respond that way. He knew Ky wasn't exactly fond of him, but he also knew that he was a real gentleman. It would be bad form for him to act ungracious, especially considering the fact that he saved his life. From what however, was another story, one he intended to discover now.

"Hey Dizzy, could you leave us alone for a minute?" He moved over to the side of the wall, leaving the exit clear. "I need to have a talk with the officer here. Guy-to-guy."

"Okay." Dizzy nodded. She then turned to Ky briefly. "I'll bring you lunch later on, okay?"

Ky smiled and nodded his head. "Sounds good. Thank you."

With a smile, Dizzy exited the room and closed the door, leaving the two men alone. Johnny removed his hat from his head and moved near the bed Ky was lying in, but remained standing and looking out the window.

"Well, I must say, that's quite a turnaround for you."

Ky blinked in puzzlement. "What do you mean?"

"Never mind." the pirate captain replied. He gaze then turned, centering in on Ky. "Right now, perhaps you can tell me just what happened to you."

Ky turned his head away. "I don't think this is something you should get involved with."

Johnny frowned. "Hey, why be like that? After all, we did help you out."

To his surprise, Ky shook his head and chuckled. "On the contrary, it's because of that fact that I mustn't get you mixed up in it."

Johnny nodded in understanding. "In that case, I appreciate it. But whatever happened was clearly something big. And if I were to guess, I'd say you'd follow up on it, only you may not be sure you could deal with it again."

Ky became silent and his face downcast. Johnny saw this and figured he hit the mark perfectly. Continuing...

"Whatever happened, it left a very powerful surge of magic energy. And that was just from a couple of minutes after we found you. There aren't that many forces around that can do that. In fact, only one or two comes to mind. Besides, I plan on investigating anyway and if it's as bad as you think, I'd like the heads-up."

Ky let out a silent sigh. Johnny's words had a weight of truth in it. He had known that Johnny would want to know what happened to him. He was honestly surprised that no one else inquired about it, not even a person as curious as Dizzy. But perhaps it was under Johnny's orders to refrain from asking. Johnny was protecting his crew, just like Ky. And he could do that best if he knew just what as going on. Ky lifted his head. Perhaps the truth would dissuade the pirate captain, although he doubted it

"Very well. I will tell you."


	7. VI

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 6

* * *

_'Such a view to have every night...'_

Night had fallen once again in the skies. From his room, Ky looked out into the starlit sky, with only half a moon to illuminate it (more or less). There were rare opportunities where he had been in a position to stargaze. When he was a child, maybe… But soon the war with the gears arose and he joined the Sacred Order. And after that, he went on to become an officer in the IPF to continue in his efforts. But never had he thought to take a moment for himself.

_'Perhaps...I should take a vacation...?'_

But that would have to wait. His duty came first and the challenge he faced was great. It was in fact, part of the reason why he was still awake now; his conversation with Johnny earlier being recalled and repeated in his mind.

* * *

"_Are you serious?"_

_Ky's face was solemn. It was an unbelievable tale to tell him, but he knew it to be true. "I sincerely wish I wasn't. But I saw it with my own eyes."_

_"And you want to face this alone?" Johnny asked, his face incredulous_

_"I must." the young man shut his eyes. "It's my responsibility, my duty."_

_The pirate captain frowned. "It's also suicide. You can't expect me to stand idly by after what you've told me."_

_"Would you put your crew in that kind of danger?" His eyes opened and Johnny saw the honest concern in his features. "I would not be able to forgive myself if anyone here had gotten hurt because you pursued this course. Please." He looked up at Johnny and gave a light smile. "Think of this as a show of good faith for all that you and your people have done for me."_

_Shaking his head, Johnny placed his hat back on his head. "Heh... How did we end up on opposing sides?"_

_Ky seemed to shrug. "The path of our lives... It doesn't have to be that way though."_

_"Let's see. Only if I stop being a pirate. Or you a police officer. Not seeing either of that happening."_

_Another shrug. "Perhaps... But all things are possible with God."_

_Johnny gave him a curious glance. "Maybe. In any event, I still plan on investigating. But at the very least, I'll give you a head-start."_

_Ky lowered his head. "I suppose I should be grateful for that."_

_"And don't underestimate this crew." Johnny continued; his tone now sharp. "The Jellyfish Pirates are stronger than you give credit."_

_Ky nodded in understanding. He didn't want to sound like he was insulting the crew. "I apologize and I'll keep that in mind. But just that same, I wish you wouldn't pursue this."_

_"I may not have a choice. But you should be careful yourself." Johnny grinned. "I may not be around to help patch you back up again."_

_"Duly noted."_

_Johnny turned away and seemed as though he was departing. But he stopped in his steps and turned back to the young man. "While I'm here, I want to ask you something."_

_"Yes?"_

_"What made you spare Dizzy?"_

_Ky blinked questioningly and Johnny went on to elaborate. "Not that I'm not grateful that you didn't, but I am a little curious. You were... You are one of the knights of the Sacred Order. And she is a gear. And not just any gear, but a Commander-Gear. Surely you thought there was a possible danger in letting her live, so why did you?"_

_"Honestly..."_

_A long moment of silence came over the two men, with Johnny awaiting an answer and Ky in thought. Finally the young man broke the silence and answered, his eyes becoming distant with memory_

_"When I saw her, I thought for sure someone had made a mistake of some sort. Even with the wings and tail as evidence, she was unlike any gear I've ever seen. Even now, I see it. Her eyes…" He turned his head toward the window. "Her eyes are more human than anyone else I know." His gaze returned to normal and he turned back to face Johnny. "You're correct. I am a knight, and it was for that very reason that I didn't strike her down when I could have. I could never bring harm to an innocent."_

_Johnny smiled genuinely. "That's quite deep. And completely understandable. That's the way I see her too. She tends to have that affect on people, doesn't she?"_

* * *

The other reason he was still awake. It was unexpected when Johnny asked him about Dizzy, but even more unexpected was his thoughts about her and the words he had spoken. Nevertheless, they were truthful. Despite all her power, Dizzy was an innocent in his eyes. He saw it every time they spoke to each other.

She had a child-like curiosity about the world, but she was mature enough to know that she would not be accepted in it because of who she was. It was unfortunate, but she understood the reasons and was glad that she was able to make friends despite that. And not that that was difficult either. Give Dizzy a chance and she could befriend anyone.

_Well, maybe not that witch that knocked her off the Mayship..._

His thoughts began to make him drowsy at last and he felt his eyes beginning to close. Sleep soon came to him and his eyes shut fully. As slumber overtook him, the door of his room creaked open and a patch of blue hair fluttered in.

"Ky...?"

Dizzy stepped inside the room to find Ky asleep. A low sigh escaped her lips, as she had wanted to bid him goodnight before she went to bed. Stepping over to him, she simply looked watched him sleep. His wounds still needed healing, but it no longer affected his rest now. That was a good sign.

_Peaceful..._

Tilting her head a bit, she bent down the bed with her face coming close to his. She paused for a moment, but only a moment and she lifted her face until her lips gently met with his forehead. Pulling away, she then whispered.

"Goodnight..."

With a final smile, the young gear turned away and exited the room. However, had she turned away a second later, she would have noticed blue eyes opening up and a hand reaching up to touch a warm forehead.


	8. VII

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 7

* * *

"Ready?"

On the outer deck of the Mayship, Johnny stood in a relaxed pose, in wait for his 'opponent', who was readying himself on the other side. Eyes closed, Ky took in a breath of the fresh air. It has now been a week since he informed Johnny of the danger that waited below. Ky had healed mostly from the injuries he had sustained and was fit to be able to walk about.

However, being off his feet for so long, Ky realized that his muscles and reflexes would have softened and slowed. So, three days ago, he set out to regain his lost strength. June allowed it, but only that he should start off slow and easy, under the greatest threat that if he pushed himself too hard, she would personally chain him to the bed.

Ky still shivered at that...

On the plus side, Dizzy would probably be there for him again...

Shaking his head, Ky calmed his thoughts and focused, the Fuuraiken in his hands sparking lightly with blue energy. Slowly, Ky lifted the sword up and above his head, holding it there briefly before swiftly separating his hands, causing the blade to come down in a whoosh. Ky soon fell into stance and opened his eyes.

"Let's begin."

* * *

"Hey Dizzy."

"Hello June..." Dizzy smiled as she entered Ky's room. In her hands was a tray of food for the young man, but her eyes found no sign of Ky in the room. Her smile faltered a bit. "Where's Ky?"

"Oh, he's on the outer deck with the captain." June replied, folding up a blanket and setting it on the bed.

"Is he working out again?"

"Yeah. But he said he'd take it easy." A dark frown came over her face briefly. "Or at least he better..."

"Ah. Okay. Thank you."

Dizzy quickly set down the tray and rushed out of the room, not realizing that her tail had hit the table and caused the plate to fall. Panicked, June quickly rushed back and caught the tray before any of the contents spilled out. Placing it back on the table, June shook her head, sighing and smiling all the while.

"Boy, does she have it bad."

* * *

_Clshkk!_

The two combatants backed away after their blades crossed each other with the resulting clash. Taking a breath, Ky began analyzing his opponent. He had seen Johnny fight before, so he was well aware of the sword style he employed. The good news was that Johnny had fewer techniques to use than Ky did, so as long as Ky was able to read them before they came, he would be ready.

The bad news was how fast they came out...

There wasn't even a moment to blink before Johnny's sword would slash out from its sheath, strike, and then be pulled back into the sheath as though it had never left. _'I guess with that kind of speed, there's no need for other techniques.'_ Still, that didn't mean Ky was helpless. He had been able to read his moves well enough and his muscles, though beginning to ache, were still strong enough and fast enough to dodge or defend. It was a stalemate, but only because the two of them hadn't used any of their more powerful attacks. And since they were just sparring and Ky was still healing, there was no reason to go overboard (figuratively speaking of course).

"So, had enough?" Johnny asked, smirking beneath his large hat.

Ky seemed to take a moment to consider this. "Almost. One more go, captain?"

The smirk broadened into a grin. "If you insist."

Lightly, Johnny placed his hand on the sheathed blade and waited. It wasn't his style to charge in and attack. Rather, he would wait and seek an opening. The great thing about that was that all it took was a moment and he would be able to strike at it. And his sword could reach a good distance too. But fighting Ky... was another matter. Even though he knew the younger man was surprised by the speed of his attacks, he was able to see them and defend against them, albeit with difficulty. And to top it off, Ky could quickly move in close and that's when the real trouble for Johnny came in.

Ky didn't just attack; he danced...

It would start off small, a strike here and a slash there and before Johnny knew it, he was being assaulted endlessly and not being able to defend against all the attacks, he would have to slide away. And Ky was persistent too, well aware of what would happen if Johnny managed to get some breathing room, and acting in accordance with that. _'Guess he didn't become the leader of the Sacred Order for nothing.'_ Still, Johnny found himself enjoying the fight, but he was wary of Ky's injuries and didn't press.

It was just a spar after all...

Johnny continued to wait for Ky to make his move, but it seemed as though Ky was waiting just as he was. But that moment was brief and Ky rushed in toward Johnny. Johnny began to move as well, seemingly sliding across the ground as he began to search for possible areas of opening. When Ky came in close, he leapt into the air, with the momentum of his rush propelling him quickly toward Johnny and his sword coming up for a strike. Johnny slid off to the side just as Ky attacked, causing the Fuuraiken to miss him.

By inches...

As Ky flew by him, Johnny readied himself for the counter-attack. He couldn't let Ky move into his 'dance' again. Lifting his sheathed blade to waist level, Johnny quickly slashed out, aiming to disarm Ky. But Ky managed to wheel about as he landed and strike out to the side just as Johnny made his own attack. The result was both blades clashing into each other in a flash of energy. Ky continued on; bring his sword back and striking at Johnny again. On instinct, Johnny stepped back and struck out, his sword diagonal as it flew. Once again, both swords met with a clash of light. Johnny gritted his teeth from the attack and almost snarled when he saw Ky whirling about in attack again.

_'Doesn't he let up?'_

Once again, Johnny stepped back, this time not even bothering to attack and simply blocking the attack. The ringing of metal sounded out and Johnny pressed his sword against Ky's, locking them. The two of them struggled for a bit before both jumped away from each other. Both were breathing hard, though in Ky's case, it was more ragged. Johnny observed his opponent, feeling a bit overcome at the strength and speed Ky had, despite being injured and just recovering.

And without using any of his lightning either...

Still, Johnny could let him know that and simply grinned at him. "Now have you had enough?"

Ky nodded, evening out his breathing. "Yes. Thank you for the spar."

With that, both men relaxed out of stance and Ky placed a flat hand across his chest and bowed slightly to Johnny. Johnny only nodded in response and retorted. "Always the gentleman, eh?"

Ky simply smiled, only to stop short when he heard the sound of clapping. Turning about, he saw a good portion of the crew clapping their hands in applause. Ky was surprised, as he had not noticed any of them during the spar. But his attention was centered in on one particular figure, who seemed was carrying a slightly worried expression on her face.

_'Dizzy...'_

Not seeing this, Johnny waved to the women. "Okay, you've had your show, now back to work."

There were a few groans and chuckles as a result, but the crew all re-entered the ship to continue their duties. However, Dizzy remained in place as Ky approached her, still seemingly worried.

"It's okay." he assured her. "I'm okay."

Worry seemed to switch to a frown on the young gear's face. "June said not to push yourself."

Ky sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean to get so worked up. I just..." Finding that he was losing just what to say, he simply repeated. "Sorry."

It was at that point that Johnny came up beside Ky. "Hey don't worry about it, Dizzy. We didn't go too far. But a guy has to push themselves sometimes."

When Dizzy's expression didn't change, Ky reached forward and took her hand. Bringing it out gently, he bent down and placed a delicate kiss on her knuckles. Both Dizzy and Johnny were shocked, with Dizzy immediately beginning to blush from this action.

"I am genuinely sorry for worrying you." Ky replied, rising up and meeting her gaze. "I promise to take it easier from now on."

"O-Okay."

With a short bow, Ky moved past Dizzy and into the ship, leaving a still flushed Dizzy behind as well as a grinning captain who was only moments away from laughing aloud.

_'A ladies man? Who would have thought?'_

* * *

"No way! He kissed you? Really?"

In May's room, Dizzy had just related to her friend what had occurred on the outer deck. Since May wasn't there at the time, she had asked about it and Dizzy went to tell her about the sparring match, as well as what happened afterward. Needless to say, May was ecstatic and Dizzy was beginning to have doubts about sharing her feelings with her friend as she continued to rant on.

"How was it? How long was it? Where was it?"

"It-it was just on my hand." Dizzy managed to answer.

"On your hand? Oh that is so sweet! He is _such_ a gentleman!" Pausing for a moment, May let out light happy sigh as she imagined Johnny doing that to her. _'Oh, Johnny...'_ Her attention returned to the present and to her friend and she smiled warmly at her.

"I think he really likes you."

"I...like him too..." Dizzy half-whispered. "I feel...different when I'm around him. Happier, I think." Her gaze lowered and became a look that May well recognized as dreamily. "And when I'm around him, I always feel warm..." She placed a delicate hand over her chest.

"...here..."

May was stunned for a while, her previous ranting and raving gone as he looked upon her friend. She had known Dizzy for quite awhile and she knew Dizzy was honest almost to a fault. Yet, the way she answered her seemed to be...more than that. And her hand, placed softly on her chest...

_Over her heart..._

It was such that May found herself quietly asking Dizzy. "Oh my... Dizzy... Are you...in love with him?"

The gaze of the young gear lowered, both in question and in wonder. "I...I don't...know..."

* * *

Later on in the day, Ky was found on the outer deck once again. This time however, he was alone, gazing out into skies before him as the sun began to sink into the horizon. The winds picked up a bit, waving his now-mended uniform in it. Sometime during the day, Ky had found it neatly folded on the bed and he was able to change into it. He found that it was completely repaired, even the light armor underneath, as though it had never bore the tears or bloodstains that he was sure was on it from recently. And it was that event that brought his thoughts in an unavoidable direction

"Enjoying the view?"

Ky didn't turn as Johnny came up beside him when he answered. "Yes. It must be something to have a sight like this every night."

"It is." Tilting his hat upward, Johnny gazed out onto the setting sun along with the young officer. "I've spent much of my life in the skies, but the beauty of it never changes." He then turned his gaze to Ky. "But somehow, I doubt you called me out here to talk about the scenery."

"No. I don't think I thanked you for saving my life and caring for me here. I am in your debt."

Johnny almost replied with one of his usual remarks, but saw he wasn't finished speaking and simply remained quiet in order for Ky to continue.

"And I also wanted to say...that I won't be an inconvience to you any longer."

With a sigh, the pirate captain turned back to the setting sun. "So you're leaving."

"Yes. It's time."


	9. VIII

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 8

* * *

The next day, Ky had awoken early from his slumber. Rising up from bed, he made his way to the nearby bathroom to wash up and then left to put his uniform back on. He would soon be leaving the pirate ship, just as he said he would. However, he would not depart until tonight. He had planned on leaving the night before, but his conversation with the captain the night before changed that.

_

* * *

_

"So you're leaving."

_"Yes. It's time."_

_"Well, I understand that much." Johnny replied. "But perhaps you could hold off until tomorrow."_

_Blinking in question, Ky turned to look at Johnny. Instead of looking back, however, Johnny simply lifted his face to the sky. "Well, you wouldn't be able to give the proper farewell to everyone if you just left now, would you?" And the same would be for those who would want to say goodbye to you as well, don't you think?"_

_"I...suppose..." Ky stammered._

_"Besides, I haven't given you the full Mayship treatment. At the least, you could get a proper dinner before you go."_

_Ky found himself shaking his head. This was completely unexpected. He would have thought that Johnny would have hurried to see him off (maybe not hurried, but perhaps eager). But instead, he's asking him to stay, for a little longer. But Johnny was right about one thing. It would be better to say goodbye tomorrow than now._

_"I... I don't know what to say. You and your crew have already done so much for me."_

_Johnny gave him a careless shrug. "Well, let's just say I'm feeling generous."_

* * *

Leaving the room, Ky still wondered about the reasons why Johnny wanted him to stay a bit longer. It wasn't that he didn't believe what the pirate captain. But he knew better than to take him at face value alone. He didn't know why, but he just felt as though there was an ulterior motive behind his request. Mentally, Ky shook his head. What was done was done. If there was more to what Johnny said, he would find out about it soon enough.

In the meantime...

Blinking, Ky realized that he had wandered further than he had thought. He had planned on heading to the outer deck (he had become quite fond of it), but had strayed into a large area instead. Judging from the tables and chairs, he guessed that it was the dining hall. He began to turn around and head back when he caught sound of light humming...

In the nearby kitchen, Dizzy was happily humming to herself as she washed the dishes. Normally, May or one of the others would be helping her, but many of the crew were occupied, although May said she would be by to help later. It was odd, for most people didn't think kindly to doing chores, but Dizzy felt differently and gladly took to her assignments. Even so, there were quite a few left to clean, but she didn't mind and continued to hum, with her tail swaying lightly to her own music.

At least until an arm came into view from her side...

Pausing, Dizzy turned and blinked in semi-shock when she saw Ky grab a nearby towel and begin to dry the dishes she had been washing. She watched him at first, surprised by his presence. She had planned on visiting him later on after she was done here. Even though Ky was better, they still met together to talk. So it was quite a twist that he would come to visit her.

It was nice...

Ky, meanwhile, continued to work on drying the dishes. It was the only option he seemed to be able to come up with after he had followed the source of the humming and found it to be Dizzy. Since the door was behind her, she didn't see him enter, so she didn't see him watching her from behind, entranced by her appearance. The uniform she wore left little to the imagination and he figured that was Johnny's doing. Aside from May and the cook, all of the women on the ship wore such clothing. It wasn't something he took note of at first, since he was recovering, but when his condition improved, he (blushingly) noticed this.

But on Dizzy, it was just cute...

Perhaps too cute, as he had been staring at her a moment longer that he thought was appropriate. He was pretty sure that his face was flushed when he realized that he was practically ogling her and upon diverting his eyes, he saw a dry towel as well as a rack of dishes still dripping wet. A more helpful thought presented itself and soon enough, he had moved over beside her and began going to work.

"Ky...?"

The officer turned to her with a smile. "I thought I'd help. It's the least I can do."

In the moment that their eyes met, the two of them froze. Her heart was beating faster than normal, but she didn't really notice this as she gazed at the crystalline blue of Ky's eyes. They were bright and striking, just like the lightning element that he wielded. But there was kindness and tenderness there too and... perhaps. She didn't really know how to describe it, but it filled her with warmth.

_-"Oh my... Dizzy... Are you...in love with him?"-_

Ky's mind was traveling along the same train of thought as Dizzy's. The young man had always been fascinated by her vermillion eyes, but to see such gentle emotion in them was almost too much, especially when she was close. It was as if he was entranced by her gaze and he couldn't resist it, even if he wanted to. It was as he had told Johnny before and more. They were the most human eyes he had ever seen.

_They were also the most beautiful..._

Both their faces burned red and the two quickly turned from each other and focused on the task at hand. Yet, that didn't wipe away the soft smiles that matched on their faces as they continued their work. After a minute, Dizzy began humming again, smiling wistfully as she did. Ky took a moment to sneak a glance, enjoying the expression of contentment on her face. But it wasn't until his eyes drifted down to her lips did he quickly look away, blushing once again as he saw where his thoughts were going.

While Ky was tormented by his thoughts, Dizzy tilted her head to look over at him. His face seemed to be flushed, but as for the reason why, she didn't know. Some time ago, she would have assumed that he was uncomfortable in her presence. In fact, he seemed to be more at ease around her than anyone else on board. The reminder of how he relaxed and smiled under her touch when he was ill came back to mind. It was strange for that to happen.

But also very flattering...

Unbeknownst to the pair, a smaller figure had entered the kitchen from behind, watched them, and quickly departed. She moved silently, placing her hands over her mouth to keep the giggles from coming out.

* * *

"Well, this is where we go our separate ways, eh officer?" Johnny said, standing beside the young man.

"It would appear so, captain."

Night had descended upon the skies once again. Ky and Johnny stood side-by-side in a lower level of the Mayship, where the dropships were held. Earlier the night, Ky joined the crew for dinner where he was the center of attention. The young officer felt a little overwhelmed by the (female) attention, but he took it in stride (as much as he could anyway). But one particular moment stuck in his mind and that was a moment after the food was served.

_

* * *

_

"Ky?"

_"...Oh, yes?"_

_Sitting down beside him, Dizzy gave him a questioning gaze. "What were you doing?"_

_Ky returned the gaze, wondering she meant until he realized it when he thought back to his previous action before the meal. "I was praying."_

_"Praying?"_

_Ky smiled, seeing the curious gaze that came into Dizzy's eyes. "It's when you make a request to God and give thanks."_

_The young gear tilted her head in thought for a moment and then inquired further. "And what were you giving thanks for?"_

_"Many things." he replied, his gaze drifting away. "For being alive, for the captain for finding me when I was hurt, this crew for taking care of me, and..." His gaze returned to her and softened._

_"...For meeting with you again..."_

* * *

"So this is goodbye, huh?"

Turning his head, Ky faced a few of the crew that had came to bid him farewell. In the forefront were May, June and of course, Dizzy. Her eyes locked with his briefly and then lowered. Not noticing this, May approached Ky first and hugged him. Ky was surprised by this, but returned the gesture. May giggled as she parted from him.

"Maybe you can visit us one day."

Ky smiled at the girl and gave her a short nod. "Maybe."

June moved up next and hugged him as well. Ky wasn't as surprised as he was with May and easily returned it. June soon pulled away and her cheeks were a bit flushed as she smiled at him.

"Take care of yourself."

Again, Ky nodded and his gaze again fell upon Dizzy, whose head was still lowered. She just couldn't bring herself to look up at Ky; not to say goodbye. She had grown fond to his presence, delighted in talking with him about the world that he saw, and equally pleased when Ky took an interest in her tales. She would miss him; that much was clear. Still, she knew this had to happen.

Forcing a smile (a first for her), Dizzy strode toward Ky, her vermillion gaze settling with his crystalline eyes. Her heart raced as she approached, but she didn't stop until she was standing directly in front of him. His gaze seemed to be a mix of questioning and adoring, with the latter causing her cheeks to flush a little. Her smile became genuine as she spoke to him in a half-whisper.

"I will miss you, Ky."

Before he could respond, Dizzy leaned forward and placed a tender kiss on his cheek. She lingered for a bit before breaking off and turning about, completely stunning the young man and leaving his face lightly flushed. The crewmates around them all exchanged smiles and grins, with a few giggles to add into the mix. Johnny let out a cough to catch Ky's attention and quiet his crew a bit.

"Time to go."

Numbly, Ky nodded to the pirate captain and followed him into the dropship. By the time, Ky regained his senses, the smaller vessel had separated from the main ship. However, Ky found himself looking back at the Mayship as they began to fly away from it, a part of him hoping to catch a final glimpse of the winged young woman.

Not realizing that aboard the Mayship, Dizzy was searching for a glimpse of him...


	10. IX

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 9

* * *

"Helloooo. Earth to Dizzy."

Her eyes fluttering, Dizzy turned from the sink to May, who was standing next to her. "Oh, yes?"

May shook her head and smiled at Dizzy. "You were out of it again."

Her eyes widening for a bit, the young gear looked down to see the overly soaked plate in her hands. Her face flushed lightly from embarrassment. "Oh, I'm sorry."

May continued to smile. For the past week, Dizzy had been distracted, lost in thought. It was true that she was normally known to daydream, but this was happening more frequently than before. And to top it off, she always seemed to have a dreamy look on her face, or her cheeks would have a light shade of pink on them. It didn't take much for either May or the rest of the crew to realize what or rather _whom_ she was thinking about.

"I'm sure he's thinking about you too."

"You..." Again, the blush returned to her feature and she simply sighed, not bothering to try and hide it. "You really think so?"

"For sure!" May chirped.

Dizzy nodded, and returned to her duties, smiling wistfully to herself at the thought that somewhere, wherever he may be, Ky would be thinking about her.

_'Ky...'_

* * *

Standing on a hilltop overlooking a large facility, Ky gazed down at the structure. Despite its appearance of abandonment, Ky knew there was more to it than meets the eye. Since he returned, Ky put forth great efforts to track down and locate the source of the devastation he had been involved with weeks ago. It was to his horror to learn that the same thing had been happening in various areas, with no survivors to speak of in the resulting destruction.

Ky's return came as a relief to the IPF, as he had been missing in action and feared dead. However, their investigation of the incidents had no results. Without delay, Ky returned to the case, hoping to find the cause before anyone else. When the usual methods failed, Ky decided to go another way; that being to learn from those who had been involved in the Sacred Order tournament of the past.

One of them being a certain Chinese chef...

_

* * *

_

(Three days back)

_"It's been a while, Ky."_

_Jam smiled as she sat down opposite of Ky in the window seat area. It had been awhile since they last saw each other, but he remembered it quite well. It was when she had convinced him to share a picnic with him. She almost stuffed him with the food she had made, but it was delicious and he had a good time. However, he had been called away for another mission soon after and haven't seen her since._

_"I'm sorry. I meant to visit, but..."_

_She waved him off. "No worries. I know you're a busy guy." Her tone soon became serious. "Which I'm guessing is why you're here now."_

_Ky lowered his gaze. "So you've heard."_

_Jam nodded. "Yeah. It's pretty big news and word catches fast around here."_

_"I'm hoping to find a lead." He lifted his eyes to hers. "Have you heard anything?"_

_"Awww." She placed her arm on the table and lent her head on her head on it. "And here I was hoping you were just stopping by to say hi."_

_"Sorry."_

_"Hm."_

_At that, Ky noticed that her gaze had narrowed, as though she was inspecting him. "What?"_

_"Oh nothing." Returning to the original subject. "Anyway, I heard rumors that there may be a gear involved. I don't know anything solid, but a few have mentioned something of seeing airships around the area of attacks afterward."_

_Ky blinked. "Airships?"_

_"Yeah. I'm not sure if there's any truth to it, since they were seen from a distance or something like that. Not to mention...well, you know..."_

_Yeah, he knew alright. No survivors... Still, he hadn't heard anything about airships before. This may be a loose lead, but it could be of great benefit, especially considering that he was low on lead to start with._

_"Well, that does help me out a bit. Thank you, Miss Kuraderberi."_

_"The Chinese chef shook her head. "I told you before, you can just call me Jam. Anyway, before you head out, how about a meal? On the house."_

_"I..." He almost refused, but remembered that it would be impolite to refuse a gift from a lady and smiled in return. "Thank you."_

_"And you can tell me all about her."_

_"Her...?" Ky said in surprise._

_Jam's smile slowly turned into a wicked grin. "The girl you was daydreaming about before I came over here."_

_"Um...I...uh..."_

_Jam watched his face redden and sighed. "The good ones are always taken..."_

_Again, Ky blinked in question, but Jam didn't bother to elaborate and continued on the attack. "Anyway, you were telling me about your girlfriend."_

_"She's not..." Too late did Ky realize what he had just said, but he couldn't take back his words now. He knew it, and Jam certainly knew it now too._

_"Ah, ha! So you were thinking about a girl. So come on. Spill."_

_'Dizzy...'_

* * *

Jam had been right. He had evaded from her telling who exactly, but that didn't change the fact that he had been thinking about Dizzy. Since he left the Mayship days ago, he found out that he had been thinking about her quite a bit, especially given the way they departed and the fact that she kissed him...again...

At first, he was a little frustrated by the fact, as he wanted to keep his focus on his mission. But it just couldn't be helped. In particular, he would see, or rather expect to see, her smiling image whenever he woke up (which was rare since he had hardly slept since he returned), only to have her image disappear as awoke more fully (which frustrated him more).

With a sigh, Ky cleared his thoughts and focused once again on the facility. Thanks to Jam's information and some additional help from Potemkin, Ky was able to locate this facility. It was in remote, battle-ravaged wasteland and as he thought before, it looked worn and abandoned; a perfect place to hide since few would venture out into this area and none would think anything would be out here.

"Hey, look who it is."

Turning to the side, Ky looked at the source of the voice and his eyes widened a bit as he saw two men coming up toward him. Oddly enough, it wasn't the speaker that caught his attention, but rather his companion; a large burly man in red that he recognized all too well.

"Sol..."


	11. X

Disclaimer: See initial chapter

* * *

"Tch. Figures you'd be here."

Frowning at the sour comment, Ky narrowed his eyes at the red-garbed bounty hunter. For as long as they had known each other, they had never gotten along, even when they were both in the Sacred Order. And when Sol left the Order with the Fuuenken, that really did it for Ky, who at the time, believed Sol had stolen it. But as time passed, that no longer was a factor. Whether Sol had stolen it or not, he was the only person on the planet who could utilize Fuuenken's full power.

But the man's attitude was just so...frustrating...

"Hey now, now. Let's save that for later." Axl replied, holding his hands up. He then smiled at the young officer. "Good to see ya, Kiske."

Ky nodded, the frown leaving his face. "The same to you, Axl. What brings you here?"

With a shrug, he thumbed Sol. "Probably the same thing that brought you and him here. And if anything of what I've heard is true, then 'he' could be here too."

"I see."

Ky knew exactly who he was talking about. He... That 'Man' had been at every scene of major gear activity. But he never openly revealed himself and when he was discovered, he would disappear, leaving behind messages, some of them cryptic.

Like the one he left Ky at their one and only meeting...

_

* * *

_

"Ky Kiske of the Sacred Order... Welcome. I was hoping to meet with you, even if for a short while."

_"You're him, aren't you? The head of the Gear Project and creator of the gears."_

_"Yes. I am."_

_"Then I have no choice, but to take you in custody."_

_"I fear that is impossible, as I am currently serving my own sentence."_

_"W-what do you mean?"_

_"Gears were brought upon this earth to give something to mankind. What is is, I can no longer say. However, the end results were never my intent."_

_"Is that so? Nevertheless, I have to take you in. Please, come peacefully."_

_"I have long hoped that there could still be a chance, both for the gears and for mankind. Perhaps a way to atone for the sins I've committed. In either case, they are no longer children of man."_

_"No longer...children of man?"_

_"Our time has come to an end. But your true quarry lies elsewhere. In time, we'll see if I am to be judged by either man or God."_

_"All are judged by God's will."_

_"Heh, you sound like him, once upon a time ago. Maybe a little of me as well. Hopefully, you will not repeat my mistakes."_

_"Him?"_

_"I believe you call him Sol..."_

* * *

Him…like Sol? That was something Ky couldn't even fathom to believe. They were such different people and they hated each other. Okay, perhaps hate was too strong a word. There was a bit of respect there and even though their attitudes clashed almost as much as their swords, that made Sol all the more a rival for Ky (Not that Sol would admit to that) Besides that, the other words of That Man also repeated themselves in Ky's mind.

_-"...In either case, they are no longer children of man."-_

Even now, Ky was unsure of those words, although now that he thought about it, it seemed to indicate something else. _'Perhaps children...of God?'_ That was a curious thought, but was it a true one? Even before entering the Sacred Order, Ky had seen the mass destruction done by the gears. It wasn't hard to believe them as monsters in that setting. But he knew of another side. The side of them that was capable of intelligent thought and action. The side of them that would protect something or someone precious to them. The side that made them every bit as human as those who created them.

The side...that Dizzy showed him.

Ky sighed inwardly, seeing that she had entered his mind once again. There was no use in trying to resist anymore. The plain truth was that he had missed her quite a lot. He didn't know how it happened, but he quickly became accustomed to her presence; enjoyed it as well. Her curious gazes, her innocent expressions, her kind smiles...

_Her soft kiss..._

Shaking his head, Ky dispelled those thoughts (for the time being) and moved on. After their meeting on the hill, the three of them decided to work together, in a matter of speaking. Therefore, they each split up and entered the facility through various entrances. Taking a side entrance, Ky made his way down a hallway corridor that led to a path of stairs heading down.

Once he descended, he found himself in another corridor, a much wider one than the one upstairs with a set of doors at the end. As Ky took a few steps toward them however, a thin, black-robed man stepped out in front of him. He had the appearance of a mad scientist, and the creepy grin on his face only served to reinforce that idea.

"So, we meet again."

Ky's eyes flashed with recognition. "You...!"

"To be honest, I didn't think you were still alive." the scientist's grin widened fractionally. "But this is good. I'll have a chance to reevaluate your abilities further now. After your last fight, I saw that our replicas of you need to be updated."

Ky felt himself scowl, recalling his last meeting with this man. "No. I'm going to stop you, here and now!"

"I'm afraid that won't be possible, as I have other things to do." he chuckled. Stepped away to the side, the scientist held up his hand. "But perhaps this lovely gentleman can suffice. After our last test run, we picked him up from a nearby forest. It revealed quite a useful ability, so we decided to use it to our advantage. Enjoy."

The young officer felt his eyes narrow in question, but caught sight of a shadow moving from an opening door where the dark scientist had indicated. Ky found his body reacting by pure instinct as the lightning blue glow of his Fuuraiken crossed blades with the curve of a blood-red blade. His gaze shifted to that of his attacker's, who glared back at him with eyes that were the same color of his weapon.

"Testament!"

"Die..."

Chap. 10


	12. XI

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 11

* * *

To say this was unexpected was an understatement...

Ky grimaced as he was shoved back into the stairway by the dark gear. In a flash, Testament charged at him, his crimson scythe soaring through the air. Quickly, Ky ducked; the curved blade just whistling over his head. But Testament didn't stop and brought the weapon around, using its momentum for a faster attack. Seeing this, Ky jumped back toward the stairway, but the scythe caught hold of the front of his uniform, tearing through it.

_'He's as fast as ever...'_

Reaching the stairway, Ky took a quick glance down. The scythe had managed to get through both the cloth and the light armor underneath, but his skin was untouched. His gaze rising back to his opponent, Ky found the form of the dark gear already coming at him. Midway, Testament launched himself through the air, spinning forward as he did with his scythe following in a blood wheel. With the smaller space, Ky had little place to evade, but dodging wasn't on the officer's mind. Rather, the Fuuraiken glowed and sparked to life and Ky slashed out in a wide arc, just as Testament flew in at him.

_Flssshhhh!_

The blades clashed in a flash of light and energy. As Testament backed away and down to the ground, Ky took this opportunity to turn and retreat back and up the stairs. Fighting in an enclosed environment was difficult, especially with his long blade. Add to the fact that his opponent was extremely deadly and it didn't make for an optimal situation. At best, Ky could at least take the fight outside in an open area. However, he only made as far as the first step out into the corridor before Testament came at him again, practically flying up the stairs.

"Die..."

Ky wheeled about to meet the dark gear's approach and managed to lift his sword to defend. But the force of the blow propelled Ky upward into the air. As Ky was airborne, the dark gear quickly pulled back his scythe and stabbed forward with the butt end of it, catching Ky in the chest and sending the officer back toward the exit. Groaning in pain, Ky brought himself back up to his feet...

As Testament came at him again...

_**KRRSSSSHHHHH!**_

The entrance door practically exploded as Ky was hurled to the outside. Spiraling about in the dirt, Ky somehow managed to roll up to his feet and stop, but his chest was burning in pain. However, he didn't have time to check as Testament emerged from the entryway, glaring coldly at the officer as he approached. Ky took a breath. Although he was probably injured now, he was where he wanted to be and thus could fight to the fullest of abilities.

As could Testament now...

Even still, the young officer fell into stance with his trusted blade sparking with energy at his readiness. Testament was unfazed and rushed at Ky with his scythe cutting the air. But instead of dodging or defending, this time Ky rushed at Testament. Both weapons clashed in a flash of light and Ky pressed on, whirling about and bringing his energized sword about for another attack. Testament too, lashed out with another attack and in a greater clash of light and energy, the two combatants were thrown back by the force.

"You will die..."

Ky didn't respond, knowing the cause of Testament's attacks against him. Not that it would have mattered. Every encounter he had with the dark gear has resulted in a fierce, life-threatening battle. First it was during the end of the Sacred Order tournament when Testament was working to resurrect Justice. Then it was during the time of the bounty on Dizzy, when he opposed him just outside her forest sanctuary.

_

* * *

_

-"Leave this forest alone. It is her sanctuary for her to live happily ever after."-

_-"You should know that seclusion is not happiness"-_

* * *

Cutting his musings short, Ky followed up his earlier strike with a low sweep. Testament shadowed back and waved out his hand. Ky sensed the burst of energy and recognized the technique used. _'Summoning magic!'_ Without turning to look, Ky jumped off to the side as a purple ooze of teeth snapped him from behind. The attack missed mostly, but managed to just nip into his leg. His face grimaced, but he felt that the bite wasn't deep enough to draw blood. Even still, it hurt quite a bit.

Moving like a black wind, Testament swooped toward Ky once again. Reacting on instinct, Ky brought his sword in to block, but as the weapons clashed against each other, Ky couldn't help the yelp of pain that came out of his mouth as he felt a stab of pain in his leg and he was shoved down to one knee as a result. _'Guess I'm more hurt than I thought.'_ Testament noticed this as well and he brought his leg forward, landing a sharp kick on the young man's chin. Ky landed flat on the floor and Testament raised his scythe high to finish him.

_'Move!'_

With that mental shout, Ky rolled over the ground just as the crimson blade struck down, practically parting the earth. Testament pulled the scythe out of the ground and attacked again while Ky was still down, but Ky was able to kick forward (with his good leg) and force the gear back. Forcing himself up to one knee, Ky brought his sword across. Lightning crackled around it as Ky summoned his own power.

_'Stun Edge!'_

Whipping the Fuuraiken out, Ky launched a bolt of lightning at the dark gear. Testament spotted it, but the blast came to fast to avoid and the gear could only hold up his scythe and block the projectile, causing streaks of electricity to flow around him. With his opponent momentarily disabled, Ky kicked off the ground and launched himself at Testament. The gear was forced into a defense as Ky savagely struck down at him, clashing heavily with the middle of his scythe.

Ky moved in to press further, but the pain in his leg caused him to falter slightly, enough for Testament to gather enough energy into his body, causing it to flash in red. As a result, when Ky's delayed attack connected, Testament's body dissolved into the ground. Ky stumbled forward, his eyes wide as he realized what had happened and was too late to stop as Testament reemerged from the ground behind him in a burst of violent energy, knocking him away.

"Guah!"

Rolling over on the ground, Ky managed to stagger back up to his feet, but he felt his strength sapping away; an additional effect from Testament's attack. Even as he tried to get back on his feet, he could feel the wobbly of his legs from the toxic energy. Fortunately, the effects were only temporary, so there was no threat of death from it. But it would weaken him enough for Testament to really kill him.

Unless he moved first...

Despite the pain from his injuries and the fatigue he was feeling, Ky forced himself to gather every ounce of magical energy he could at the moment. It happened just as Testament lunged at him, the intent to kill clear. Forcing his mind to focus the energy he had gather, Ky whirled his hand around in a circle, with the lightning energy following it and creating a blue circle around him. With his hand now in front of him and infused with the power, Ky shot it toward the dark gear with a shout.

_**"Sacred Edge!"**_

An arrow of pure energy flashed out from the officer's outstretched hand, nailing Testament straight on without any chance of defense or evasion. However, the power of his attack only dazed Testament, buying Ky only a few seconds. Once again, he forced his body into action, rushing toward Testament and concentrating on his lightning once again, this time focusing the energy into his sword.

_'Greed Server!'_

Fuuraiken surged with the resulting power as Ky leapt forward, spinning in an arch through the air and striking down on Testament's shoulder. The gear let out a gargle of pain and slammed down onto the ground. Ky landed before him, half in pain, but still on his feet. The fatigue from Testament's earlier attack was wearing away, but the young man was still in pain. Aside from the gear doing a number on him, he had been forced to use his magic more strenuously in this fight.

But the blow he landed on Testament would be far more severe, and it would take the gear a long while to recover from it. In fact, Ky felt that he might have gone a little too far. In any case, Testament was disabled, at least for the moment. Fuuraiken sparkled lightly near the fallen gear and Ky considered what to do next. Considering what was happening inside the facility, leaving Testament behind without finishing him could be problematic later on. But that would mean finishing him off, for good this time.

_Should he...?_

Shaking his head lightly, Ky moved away from Testament and headed back to the facility. A rustle of motion caught his ears and Ky tightened his grip on Fuuraiken. But as he turned his head, he only saw Testament just rising on his hands, crimson eyes glaring at the young officer.

"Why don't...you finish me...?"

Ky didn't reply, but his eyes lowered somewhat in thought. By all rights, he should finish him off. _'No...'_ He had already decided to spare him. And judging by the way his voice was ragged, Ky knew that he didn't need to do any more than what he had done. Ky began to turn away when he heard Testament growl out.

"I don't want...your pity... human."

"No. It's not that. I just..." His gaze became distant in thought. "...I just don't want to make Dizzy sad."

Testament blinked. _'Dizzy...?'_ Out loud. "What does...she have to do...with this?"

Again, Ky made no reply and simply turned and walked away. What indeed? That was simple. Dizzy saw Testament as her guardian and an older brother. And even though Dizzy was no longer under his watch, she still cared about him. To hear that Testament had been slain would indeed hurt her, even if it was for the right reasons. And that was something Ky would not do. Ky cared too much about her feelings and if he had to, he would risk further injury.

_He...loved her..._

There was no denying it now. Probably not ever. Not since she cared for him aboard the Mayship. Not since they spoke to each other and exchanged smiles. Not since...

_Not since she kissed him..._

But there was more to it than that. It wasn't just the kiss. It was the feeling behind it. Had it been any other woman, he might had dismissed it (not completely anyway). But Dizzy... the woman-gear... He felt _for_ her...

A sudden rumble caught his attention and Ky felt that it came from within the facility. Rushing back inside, Ky raced back down the stairs and through the corridor where he had entered into before. Moving onward, Ky made his way down to the end of the corridor to find several glass-clear doors ending with a thicker metal gate. Making his way through them and opening the gate, Ky found himself in a large circular chamber room. The ground illuminated with energy that flowed toward the center of the chamber, with both Sol and Axl at the side, their weapons drawn and facing a new opponent.

As well as the source to the explosion...

Standing (or rather, hovering) in the center of the chamber was a large, humanoid figure. White armor shrouded the being's form and tail. Flowing from behind was a mane of fiery-colored hair and a strange ring circled around its legs. Ice-blue eyes glowed ominously as Ky looked at the creature he has faced before...

...And that nearly killed him.

_Commander-Type Gear - Justice..._


	13. XII

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 12

* * *

_"What is this place?"_

_"Ky Kiske. It's nice to finally meet you in person."_

_"How do you know my name? Who are you?"_

_"Ah. I go by the name of Crow. And as for the first question, you are quite famous. Not to mention your data was needed for the attack drones I made."_

_"That was you?"_

_"Hey, don't frown. You should be flattered. But in any event, those were just for testing. This one here, however... will take my work to the next level."_

_"No! That...!"_

_"Not exactly. It is a duplicate, vastly more advanced than those drones I made of you. It's not an exact copy, but I'd say it's pretty close."_

_"Why...? Why would you create such a thing?"_

_"Why not? To be able to create such a creature, to display such sheer genius, it must be shared with the world, don't you think?"_

_"Such a creature would destroy the world. It may even create another war. Many innocent lives would be lost."_

_Acceptable losses in the name of science._

_No! That is unacceptable!_

_"Well then, there's not much you can do about it. But your timing is good. You can help test out its capabilities. Oh, and by the way, its designation is called Vengeance now. Have fun."_

* * *

Months ago, Ky had received a report of strange activity in a distant area. Deciding to investigate, what he discovered was far past what he had expected to find. It turned out to be a hidden laboratory, the very facility that had been producing robotic replicas of him. But even worse, he had discovered that this Raven character had created a duplicate of the Commander Gear, Justice.

As the demented scientist had mentioned, even though it wasn't the same strength, it was extremely powerful. Too powerful, as he had learned the hard way, battling the creature up to the forest on the surface of where the laboratory had been hidden. During the battle, Ky had been caught by one of Justice's, or rather Vengeance's, fire-bombs and while Ky was engulfed in the flames, the gear razed her talons across his chest, tearing through his already burning uniform and wounding him. And if that wasn't enough, when Ky went into retreat, Vengeance unleashed her energy cannon attack, annihilating the whole area.

It was nothing short of a miracle that Ky was both alive _and_ in one piece...

"Target acquired." Vengeance spoke as she narrowed her eyes at Ky. "Termination commencing."

Despite her size and armor, Vengeance rushed at Ky with blinding speed, lashing out with her black talons. On instinct, Ky brought up his sword in defense, but the force of the attack nearly hurled Ky back toward the entrance. Stifling a groan of pain as he kept to his feet, Ky rolled forward and slid on the ground, kicking at Vengeance's leg. Then as the gear staggered back (very slightly), Ky lashed out with his sword, sweeping at the armored legs of the gear.

But the sword blow had failed to connect as Vengeance's tail snapped forward and blocked it. And that wasn't the end of it as the same tail snaked down to Ky's arm and wrapped around it. Before Ky could pull away (or try to), Vengeance pulled first, flinging the officer to the other end of the room. Ky soared through the air and across, rolling badly as he hit the ground. The young officer rose up immediately (but not as quickly) and began readying for another attack.

"I don't have time for this. _Grand Viper!_"

Ky's attention shifted to Sol, who burst at Vengeance in a trail of fire. Nearing the gear, Sol kicked off the ground, launching himself upward and with the hilt of Fuuenken ready to smash into Vengeance's head. But in the last instant, the Commander-Gear tilted her head back, with the flame just stretching overhead as Sol soared on past. But the bounty hunter wasn't finished quite yet. Finding himself flying toward a wall, he twisted his body about, causing his feet to slam against it and then kicking off right afterward. Fuuenken still ablaze, Sol slashed down on Vengeance.

And only managed to raze a few locks of hair...

Using her boosters, Vengeance had shot away from Sol before his attack had connected, although it still came close. As Sol landed from his failed attack, Vengeance reversed course, now sliding across the ground toward Sol, crossing her arms as she did. Sol saw her only as a blur when Vengeance lashed out, backhanding him with both her clawed hands and using lighting magic to enhance the attack. Sol brought up his broad sword in defense, but was still struck by the electricity and staggered back. Pressing on, Vengeance reared her claw back and was about to bring it down for another slash.

...only to held back by a metal chain...

From afar, Axl had latched the chain of his kurusi-gama around Vengeance's arm before the Commander-Gear could strike. Turning her head in annoyance, Vengeance pulled sharply on the chain, taking Axl with it. The Britian allowed himself to fly through the air and wheeled about to bring his feet forward, landing both feet of Vengeance and causing her to stumble forward slightly. Axl then kicked off, just before she swiped at him and he landed a distance away. Seeing Vengeance distracted, Sol quickly called forth the power of his Fuuenken once again.

_"Gun Flame!"_

Slamming the flat sword into the ground, Sol sent forth a blaze of fire on the ground that raced toward Vengeance. The gear was unable to avoid the oncoming attack and was soon engulfed in it. However, that made little difference as Vengeance simply stood in the midst the raging flames, completely unaffected. Sol growled in annoyance, but rushed toward the Commander-Gear, launching himself into the air knee-first. Vengeance moved first, however, intercepting him in mid-air with a clothesline.

"Gh!"

Hitting the ground hard, Sol grumbled as he rose, unaware that Vengeance was moving upon him, her hand straightening forward, and forming into a long blade. Rearing her arm back, the Commander-Gear prepared to strike when her eyes shifted to the side and suddenly she dashed away, a moment before a blade of electricity slashed from the side where her head was. Sol managed to look up and grumbled when he realized what had just happened.

"I didn't ask for your help."

Ky didn't turn his gaze away from Vengeance, but he answered. "I owed you one from long ago. And I repay my debts, even to a guy like you."

"Heh..."

Their little reprieve was cut short when they sensed a build-up of magical energy. Both focused on Vengeance who was crouching down. It wasn't until she rose up again when Ky realized the danger. They all did in fact, for when Vengeance lifted upright; her shoulder armor had been opened, showing two surges of intense energy.

"GET DOWN!"

The next moment was nothing else but a blinding light, a terrible screeching noise and the crumbling of material being vaporized. When the light cleared away, Ky lifted his arms away from his face and looked up and was astonished by what he saw. The gear's blaster attack had completely vaporized the entire wall behind them. And not just the wall either. The entire section of the facility behind them had been blown clean to the outside, exposing it in a path of rubble and debris.

The shock on the young man's face was clear. Even though had been caught in this attack before, to see its effects were a terrifying sight. Turning to the source, Ky readied himself only to wince when he realized that the energy attack had scorched his back. It didn't feel too bad, but it would be enough to slow him down a bit; a luxury he couldn't afford in this fight.

Remembering his comrades, Ky looked about himself. From the far side, he could see Sol rising up from the ground. From the looks of it, the bounty hunter was holding his right arm, which was covered with scorch marks. _'So I'm not the only one who's hurt.'_ Looking further, he managed to see Axl on the ground further off, unconscious. Bits of debris were all over him and Ky couldn't tell if he was just knocked out or worse. Either way, the situation was bad. Both he and Sol were injured and Axl was knocked out.

And they still had to deal with Vengeance...

The said gear stood in the midst of the destruction, eyes glowing ominously as she looked upon the two remaining combatants. Yet she made no move to engage them and instead tilted her head up slightly. Ky's eyes narrowed and then widened as he realized that she was looking past them. Turning back (a stifling the pain he felt in doing so), Ky saw another figure approach, an all-too familiar blood-red scythe in its grip.

Testament...

Strangely enough, Ky didn't seem too surprised. From what he knew about Justice, the Commander-Gear could control other gears and Vengeance apparently had the same ability as well, a fact that Ky realized when he fought him outside the facility. Testament was no exception from the control, as was shown in the first Sacred Order tournament when he was used to try to revive Justice from the seal that imprisoned her. That control could have explained his protectiveness of Dizzy, but Ky didn't believe so.

In any case, the situation was worse. Not only would he be facing Vengeance, but Testament as well. Ky was unsure how much the black gear had recovered from their earlier scuffle, but if he was here, then he must have healed enough to resume fighting. Looking back at Vengeance, Ky gripped hard on Fuuraiken. This would be a terrible battle, no doubt. But Vengeance had to be stopped, no matter what. The sword sparked in response to his thoughts and Ky held his sword up, waiting to see which one of the two would move first. It would be difficult, since both gears were on opposite sides of him.

Until Sol moved over and stood behind him...

Ky blinked but said nothing as the bounty hunter moved to cover his back, facing Vengeance. He knew they would have to work together to survive this, but somehow it felt a little surreal. Granted, it wasn't the first time they had to work together, but it was the first time that Sol seemed _to acknowledge_ that they had to work together.

"Don't get the wrong idea." Sol grumbled, as if reading his thoughts. "I just don't have time to waste on both of them."

Oddly enough, Ky felt a slight grin form on his lips. "Of course. No sense in wasting time."

Sol glanced back at the officer briefly, a bit surprised by the remark. With a grin of his own, Sol turned back to face Vengeance. The grin disappeared and was replaced by a determined scowl. From behind, Ky could feel the heat of the Fuuenken rising and a few bursts of fire puffing forth, responding to Sol just as Fuuraiken responded to Ky. Fire and lightning spat on the ground beneath the two as they stared at their opponents, who stared back at them with cold eyes.

"Heaven...or hell..." Ky whispered.

Sol grinned ferally. "Let's rock."


	14. XIII

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 13

* * *

The partially wrecked facility now lit up with new energy as the battle raged on within. Sol wasted no time in engaging Vengeance, charging at the gear in a rush of motion and bringing Fuuenken down to bear. Vengeance merely lifted her arm, blocking the attack and then pushed it aside. But Sol was already rebounding, hopping off the floor backward into a wall behind him and then kicking off of that at well, his boot extended and smashing it right into the Commander-Gear's face.

As Vengeance stumbled, Sol pressed on, rushing in close. But Vengeance recovered faster than he expected and the gear's clawed hand found its way around the back of his neck. Snatching him from the ground, Vengeance lifted him high and made ready to slam him down into the ground. But Sol brought his Fuuenken in on Vengeance's arm, freeing himself. Sol still hit the ground hard, but he managed to pick himself up enough to back away.

"Increasing combat level to maximum."

Sol blinked as an aura of energy seeped out of the armor of the gear, with the ring that encircled her legs spinning faster than before. _'So it's like that, eh? In that case...'_ In response, Sol crossed his arms in front, summoning up his own power to the full. His body began to glow in a searing red and flames hissed around him. Then his unfolded his arms mightly, causing the flames to explode around him and scorch the ground. With the full power of Fuuenken released, Sol snarled and charged, rushing at Vengenace in a blur.

"RAAAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

Meanwhile, the fight between Ky and Testament renewed, with both officer and gear circling each other. Unlike their counterparts battling nearby, it seemed that neither of the two was eager to jump into the fight. For Ky, it was because he wasn't sure of the extent of his injury he had sustained from Vengeance's energy blast and he had hope he might be able to at least gauge it before Testament attacked; which alone puzzled Ky. He had expected the black gear to have charged in and attack already, but perhaps Testament was taking his time, as Ky had beat him earl-...

"What does Dizzy have to do with this?"

Ky blinked as Testament asked that. That had been the last question he asked before Ky left him outside and apparently, it was still on his mind. And even though he was surprised by it, Ky remained silent on the matter just like before. This unfortunately, only served to increase the dark gear's ire.

"You will answer me, human!"

Ky tensed, and on doing so, felt his back flare with pain. He must be more hurt than he thought. Yet Testament had yet to attack. Was it because of Dizzy; because he was so adamant on knowing? Maybe the question was interfering with Vengeance's control over him. Since Vengeance was only a duplicate, she may not have the exact same power over gears as Justice had. But even so, it wouldn't last for long, as Testament seemed to be getting closer to attacking him outright.

"She saved my life."

That was a true statement, but Ky knew it was only the tip of the iceberg. However, to tell Testament that which he hadn't even told Dizzy...seemed like a betrayal of a sort. If he was going to declare such feelings, it would be only proper to let the girl be the first to know about it. And right now, those feelings weren't something he could declare out loud yet.

And especially not to her 'older brother'...

"You're hiding something."

Ky saw Testament's eyes narrow at him and he realized that his inner musings must have shown on his face. And as such, Testament reacted, rushing across the ground like a shadow. On instinct, Ky lifted his sword in defense just as the crimson blade of the scythe came close. The blades clashed in a flash and continued to remain locked together, with Testament pressing on him.

"What are you hiding?"

Ky held back the gear, struggling both with Testament's strength and the shot of pain that tore at him from his back. Testament then bent low and pushed up, throwing Ky into the air. Ky flipped back, gritting down on the pain as he did so and landed neatly on his feet. But upon looking up, he saw Testament was in the air and diving in on him. Ky hopped back as the scythe impaled the ground. Ky held his sword back in readiness as Fuuraiken sparked with energy once again.

_'Guess I have no choice.'_

Testament managed to yank his scythe out of the ground and back just as Ky charged at him with a electrified slash. Testament blocked the attack and Ky pressed the attack by whirling low, biting back the pain as he did so. Again, Testament was forced to the defense and Ky pressed even more with a higher slash, a trail of light following behind it. Testament was pushed back completely and Ky made ready to lunge when the surge of pain in his back became too great and he paused in pain. It was more than enough for Testament to recover and bring his scythe up high to tear through the young officer

Only to jump back when a fireball came at him...

The pain dulling for the moment, Ky looked to see a revived Axl on his feet and having launched one end of his kusuri-gama, using his fire magic to enhance it. Testament dodge to the side, but Axl flicked his wrist, causing the fiery chain to snap and change direction, still toward the evading gear. With a snarl, Testament swung his scythe forward, deflecting the weapon instead.

Reeling the chain back in, Axl held it to the side in a defensive posture. From what Ky could see, Axl seemed worn out and there was no doubt that he was sporting some injuries, perhaps with some more serious ones being hidden beneath his clothing. Regardless, for Axl to use such an attack meant that he still had some strength left. Testament attacked and his scythe came against the chains, edging close to Axl's face. But the Britain grinned and moved his hands about, wrapping the chain around the scythe.

"Gotcha!"

Testament pulled back to free his weapon, but Axl followed the gear's motion and flipped directly over his head. Upon landing, Axl yanked hard, pulling the scythe out of Testament's grip and began to toss it away. But the gear didn't miss a beat and he turned, grabbed Axl by the throat and held him high in the air. Deadly energy pulsed up Testament's arm and right into Axl's body.

"Guah!"

The black gear hurled Axl aside and the man crumbled on the ground. He tried to rise up, but ultimately fell back down and became still. Ky moved forward, but Testament turned to face him, the same deadly glare in his eyes. Ky stopped and took a defensive stance. He spared a glance at the fallen Axl, unsure of how badly the man was hurt. But he couldn't do anything about it now, as Testament began to advance on him.

Ky frowned. This was taking longer than it should have. The sounds of heavy battle resounded behind him, telling him that the fight between Sol and Vengeance was still ongoing. But he couldn't just leave Sol to fight on his own and there was no telling how much longer he could last against the Commander-Gear. He had to stop Testament now, which meant going at him in full force.

_'I'm sorry, Dizzy...'_

Electricity sparked forth once again, but this time it didn't just come from Fuuraiken alone. Ky's whole body began producing the lightning power. Now it was Testament's turn to stop in his tracks as Ky summoned forth more of his power, but his expression was unconcerned and he leveled his scythe back, ready to strike. Ky began to bend low; he would only have one shot at this. If it didn't work, then he would be at Testament's mercy and he was fairly certain the dark gear would have none for him.

_**"Ride...!"**_

"Please stop!"

Both officer and gear gave shocked expression at the sound of the new voice. The lighting around Ky diminished and he looked around for the source. Glancing at Testament, he saw the gear looking up at the sky. Looking up himself, Ky gasped as he saw a form descend from the sky. The glare of the sun blocked out its view initially, but the sight of feathered wings was unmistakable. They were the wings of an angel...

"Dizzy..."


	15. XIV

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 14

* * *

_"Captain. I'm picking up a slight energy surge. I think we might have found the place."_

_Johnny nodded as he turned away from the window. After Ky's departure, Johnny began his own investigation of the event that had injured the young officer. Hearing about a duplicate of Justice roaming about was more than enough to warrant his attention. It took him a bit of time to find it however, until he learned of an oddity in airship travel. Following it had been challenging, but once done, the crew had managed to trace it to this general area._

_"Dizzy?"_

_"I can feel something..." she answered, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I'm not sure...but I...I know this feeling..."_

_Johnny nodded; Dizzy's answer being the confirmation he needed. "Okay. Take us down, but keep us in the clouds. No sense in letting them know we're here yet."_

_With that, the captain moved toward the side and onto the deck. But just as he opened the door, the ship suddenly rattled violently. Johnny grabbed hold of the side of the door before he fell. Dizzy fell forward, but Johnny managed to catch her as well._

_"What was that?"_

_"A high concentration of magic energy just exploded down below." March replied. "It's coming from the same place where we picked up the energy surge."_

_Helping Dizzy to her feet, Johnny found himself shrugging. "Okay, forget the cloud cover. Take us in, but keep the ship low and out of sight."_

_"Roger!"_

_The Mayship cruised out of the skies and lower toward the ground. It wasn't often that Johnny took the entire ship in, but in this case, he had to move fast. As the Mayship swooped over the wasteland, Johnny went out on the deck. There, he managed to see the facility, or at least what was left of it. From the angle they were flying in, they could see half of the structure standing, with the other half looking as though it been bomb._

_Probably not too far from the truth..._

_Though his sunglasses, Johnny was able to see dim flashes of light coming from within the damaged structure. Judging from the magical energy he was sensing (as well as the additional eruptions occurring within), it seemed that a battle was taking place. The Mayship made a single swoop around the facility, still out of range, but close enough to get a good look of the battle. Though he couldn't make out what was creating the explosions in the background, he did catch a glimpse of colors in the clearing. Beside him, Dizzy was looking at the same scene and seeing the same as he did. Colors moving about. Red, black, blue-white..._

_"Testament?"_

_Johnny blinked and looked at her, not knowing or realizing how sharp her eyesight was. She had made out the black figure as Testament? What was he doing here? But then his mind sorted through the other colors he had thought of and just as soon as he thought it, he looked back._

_Blue-white...!_

_"Ky!"_

_Again, Johnny turned to her, but she was no longer standing beside him..._

* * *

"Please stop!"

Landing between Testament and Ky, Dizzy held her hands out to the two combatants. Ky looked at her in awe, not fully believing that she was there before him, looking as angelic as he always thought she appeared. Even more so with her wings spread out wide along with her hands and her eyes soft in plea. But before he could speak, the black gear beat him to it.

"What are you doing here?"

Dizzy's eyes now focused solely on the taller gear, all the while her body turned so that Ky was behind her. "Please, don't fight him."

Testament noticed her posture change and stated. "You are protecting him." His eyes narrowed as they were directed toward Ky. "And he spoke of you, but his eyes were hiding something."

Dizzy blinked upon hearing that Ky had spoken about her. Then May was right. He really had been thinking about her. Despite the situation, she found her cheeks beginning to flush lightly at the thought, something else Testament took note of and stated as well.

"He means something to you."

Dizzy paused in silence to glance over at Ky. Their eyes met and their gazes held and Dizzy replied with a soft smile. "Yes. He does."

Testament was still for a moment, with only the dry winds fluttering about his skirt as he seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, Testament lowered his scythe and his gaze softened, much to Ky's surprise (at least to the softening part; the reason why wasn't). Dizzy moved toward the gear and took hold of his arms, kindly smiling all the while.

"Testament..."

Ky felt himself lighten at the moment, but it quickly ended in light of a loud explosion that erupted behind him. Turning about, Ky looked into the ruined facility and saw only smoke and flame. But after a moment, a shadow began to emerge from the burning ash. And unfortunately, it was way too tall to be Sol. Dizzy looked on as well, sensing its approach long before it was visible. And as before on the Mayship, she was feeling something that she was familiar with. Something produced a single word in her mind.

_'Mother...?'_

Vengeance strode out from the smoke and before the three. Her armor showed slight signs of battement and burns, but beyond that, she was relatively undamaged. Her gaze swept upon the three before her and soon settled upon Dizzy. Once more, the sapphire eyes glowed ominously, as her focus was now on the young gear.

"Control compromised. Eliminating disruption source."

It took a moment for Ky to realize what she had meant. Dizzy's presence was interfering with Vengeance's control over Testament and to stop it, she had to get rid of Dizzy. Ky didn't even see what attack Vengeance launched, nor did he care as he launched himself as the commander gear, Fuuraiken clashing with Vengeance's own blade. The Commander-Gear immediately kicked out and Ky was met with a metallic foot, sending him to ground.

"Ky!"

Dizzy began to move to the fallen officer, but her action exposed her to Vengeance as she boosted toward Dizzy with her claws extended. On reflex, Dizzy drew her wings up and around her in defense. But instead of impact, there was a loud clash that resounded. Looking out, Dizzy saw what had stopped the attack.

A blood-red scythe...

Sparks flashed about as Testament held back Vengeance and soon, the two gears parted in force. Testament swooped back in before he even touched the ground, but Vengeance was already on the move, her arm producing a sword and slashing it across Testament. The dark gear managed to block, but the force was enough for it to wound him somewhat. But Testament was unable to stop the clawed hand from grabbing hold of his face and holding him up in the air. Black electricity began to surge through the commander gear's arm and into Testament. The dark gear let out a groan of agony, but it was cut short when an arrow of energy struck the Vengeance, forcing her to drop Testament. Looking over, she saw that the arrow had come from a blue-white wing and an outstretched arm.

"I won't let you hurt them!"

Vengeance stared as Dizzy transformed into her black-clad battle form in a flash of light. A energy ring encircled around her legs as she hovered just above the ground. Her eyes returned the gaze Vengeance had on her, while she felt her power beginning to awaken and rise to the full. _'No. No so much'_ she mentally whispered to herself. She still wasn't in complete control of her powers as of yet and she had to be careful.

Vengeance suddenly swooped at Dizzy with unearthly speed, her claws tearing the ground with charged energy. But Dizzy saw it and rushed at her, moving just as fast. Upon closing, Dizzy waved her hand downward and her black wing responded, altering a part of its form into a sword-like weapon. Vengeance did the same, once again bringing forth a sword of her own. The blade clashed violently against each other and held until Vengeance pulled back and swiped with her other hand, summoning another sword in attack.

Dizzy managed to duck under the second swipe and saw Vengeance coming in for a third. Floating back, Dizzy extended her blue wing this time. The wing folded as the previous one did, but more so as it changed into a female form; Undine. The icy figure stretched out her hand in response to Dizzy's thought and immediately brought up a huge shard of ice magic from the ground. Vengeance cut off her own attack to evade, but the ice still managed to rake against her armor.

Pressing the attack, Dizzy reversed direction and moved toward Vengeance, her black wing now morphing into a shrouded humanoid form, Necro. The dark specter lashed out, his hand becoming a huge beast-like claw that threatened further damage, but Vengeance suddenly whirled about and swung her arm. A beam of energy shot out like a flash, hitting Dizzy and knocking her back.

Stunned, Dizzy drifted back and shook her head to clear out...whatever it was that hit her. But when she did, she immediately she caught sight of the shoulder armor of the gear opening up, with a great surge of energy coming from them. Too late did Dizzy realize the power of the attack that was coming, nor could she avoid it as she was too close. Instinctively, her wings began to close around her in defense, but they had covered her only halfway when the energy blast of Vengeance was unleashed upon her.

And then...

_**"Ride The Lightning!"**_


	16. XV

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 15

* * *

On the ground on the sidelines, Ky groaned painfully as he recovered. His back was still pained from the facility destruction and he could now taste blood on his mouth. That was no surprise, considering that the armored gear had kicked him in the face after he charged at her. It wasn't like him to do something so reckless, but he just had to stop Vengeance from hurting Dizzy.

_'Dizzy!'_

His pains momentarily forgotten, Ky brought himself up to see the fight between Vengeance and Dizzy. He had revived just after Dizzy managed to free Testament from Vengeance's grip and take on Vengeance herself. As the fight progress, Ky couldn't help but be stunned as Dizzy managed to hold her own against Vengeance. He knew he shouldn't be surprised by it; after all, both were Commander-Gears and thus capable of using incredible power. But seeing Dizzy, the same sweet and gentle young woman who took care of him, in battle like this left him in awe.

_'She's really learned how to use her power...'_

But that awe soon passed when Vengeance managed to knock her back with a energy flash, stunning her briefly. It was just enough for Ky to see Vengeance begin to unleash her cannon attack. _'No! Not again!'_ The officer managed to make it to his feet, all the while his mind was quickly in motion. He wouldn't be able to stop Vengeance in time; neither would he be able to make it to Dizzy to get her out of the way in time.

The cannon charged to the full and Ky could only think of one thing to do. Using every ounce of magical power he had within himself and Fuuraiken, Ky flew toward Vengeance. The lightning crackled brightly around Ky until it formed a sphere of energy around him, transforming the officer into a literal bolt of lightning that flew right into the path of the beam just as it was unleashed.

_**"Ride The Lightning!"**_

Through the light and partly closed wings, Dizzy's eyes widened as she witnessed Ky's attempt to shield her from Vengeance's attack and succeeding. With his technique, Ky was holding back the stream of energy unleashed by the Commander-Gear at its center with the remaining energy scattering elsewhere. Now it was Dizzy's turn to look at Ky in awe. Although he couldn't stop Vengeance, he was deflecting an attack that would have hurt Dizzy severely, possibly fatally.

The energy beam soon ceased and the light died away, with Vengeance standing upright and Ky standing before him. Shock came over her face as she saw his back, which was turned toward her. His uniform was burned and though she couldn't see his face, she could hear labored breathing coming from him. His body shook and began to drift to the side, dropping Fuuraiken in the process. Before she even realized it, she had a fallen Ky in her arms and both of them on the ground.

The eyes of the young man were closed and she felt moisture on her arm. Pulling it back, Dizzy gasped when she found blood on her hand. _His blood..._ Apparently, the burns on his uniform had hidden the wounds that she now saw evidence of. But since Ky wasn't hit directly by the beam, that must have meant that he was hurt beforehand. And yet, he still rushed in to save her.

_To protect her..._

"Ky... No..."

Tears began to fall on Ky's face, yet the officer's eyes didn't move and his body was limp in her arms. From far behind, Johnny, May and a few crew members had entered the scene, only to see a weeping Dizzy on the floor with Ky in her arms. May looked sadly at her friend, but Johnny's focus was on the Commander-Gear that was beginning to approach them. His hand took a firmer hold on his sword to ready himself for the battle that was sure to come.

"May, get every-"

However, his words were cut short when he felt a very strong pulse of energy. His eyes now shifted over to Dizzy, who was rising up from the ground, with Ky sliding down her legs. Another pulse shot out and Johnny now realized that it came from her. Her hair was covering her eyes, but he saw her hands clenched. Another pulse shot out of her, stronger than before and it didn't take a genius to realize what was happening.

_Dizzy...was angry..._

It was a sight he'd never thought he'd see. For everything that Dizzy had gone through and all the pain she had suffered through her life, she never once retaliated with any sort of hostility. Even in the battles she had undergone, she never fought with negative emotion. But now, she was practically brimming with anger and the power she had worked to control was now brimming to the surface in force. Her eyes, normally soft and almost pink, were now a deep crimson with her brows furrowed deep with violent intent.

"You hurt Ky...!"

Vengeance paused in her tracks as Dizzy began glowing in white. Her wings spread out wide and her increasing power began to shake the earth underneath them. The glow of white soon concealed her features altogether and it seemed as though she was growing in size. From the sidelines, the Jellyfish pirates watched the unleashing of Dizzy's power and were forced to back away. Even Vengeance took a step back upon seeing the girl's power, but it would make little difference as her gaze was locked solely on the armored gear.

However Vengeance showed no signs of retreat and reared her arm back in order to strike. But as her arm reached the side, it was suddenly engulfed in an explosion. Beneath her armored face, the eyes of Vengeance widened and she pulled her arm up to see the heavy damage it sustained. It was so much that part of the armor itself were only just hanging on to her arm. Looking back up at Dizzy, she saw the girl's hand was to the side, indicating that she swung it. Her eyes were still upon Vengeance and as they burned with more rage, her voice became that much more chilling.

_"I will never forgive you...!"_

Both her arms began to cross and more power started to surge out of her. Her body then began to tuck inward, levitating over the ground as she did so. Johnny had to hold the hand on his hat just to keep it from blowing off while May and the others with him covered their eyes from the light that shone. Vengeance was pushed back further, still holding her damaged arm until Dizzy let out a blood-curdling cry.

_**"NEVER!"**_

Her body opened out and the glow expanded into a wave of pure light and energy. The light engulfed Vengeance and with it, a maelstrom of energy and power. Such was its force that Vengeance was unable to either fight it or defend against it and as a result, began to vaporize within it, with only one final thought before she was completely obliterated.

_'...Dau...ght...er...?'_

However, Vengeance's destruction didn't stop Dizzy's power from rising. The ground began to tremble more violently and the light upon Dizzy grew to the point where she was barely visible. Waves of energy pulsed rapidly from her body and the ground began to crumble. The Jellyfish Pirates were continually being pressed back by the energy, with Johnny in disbelief as to the amount of power she was releasing. 'She has...this much power...?'

"Dizzy! Can you hear me?" May yelled, hanging on to her anchor which was planted in the ground to keep her in place. "You have to stop it!"

If Dizzy heard, she paid no heed to her friend's call. And even that was in doubt considering that her growing power was creating such havoc and destruction; destruction that was beginning to expand. The remains of the facility were beginning to crumble and fall apart from the force. There seemed to be no end it sight and no way to stop the young Commander-Gear.

"Dizzy..."

The voice was spoken in a whisper, but it was enough for the gear in the center of the maelstrom to snap out of her rage and pain. A pair of hands could be felt on her, first on her legs and then on her arms. The light around Dizzy began to diminish enough for the young gear to see the source.

"Dizzy... It's okay... I'm okay..."

Before her amid the light stood Ky. His hands had managed to now reach up to her shoulders, holding on to her as the energy continued to pulse. He looked ragged and hurt and putting forth great efforts just to remain on his feet, but he was alright. The energy began to settle down and the white glow faded as well, revealing Dizzy's features once more. Her eyes, focused on him, were no longer filled with rage, but gratitude.

...And tears...

"Ky... Oh, Ky..."

Once again, both of them slumped down to the ground, settled in the middle of what was now a crater. Dizzy's body bent into Ky's and her arms slipped in under his arms and clasped around his back, gently but firmly. Her face disappeared into the front of his uniform, but quiet sobbing could be heard clearly enough. Ky's hands, once on her shoulders, were now around her arms in a loose embrace and his hands lightly patting her back in reassurance while she cried.

* * *

From the side, Testament looked on at the embracing pair. He had seen everything that had happened, from Ky and Dizzy fighting to protect each other to Dizzy's release of power at the officer's fall, only to see the same officer revived and managed to calm her down. It was strange to see, but given both this and their previous actions, there was no denying that the officer and his little one cared for each other.

His gaze shifted over to Johnny, who looked back at him in return with a slight cringe. For a moment, Testament was tempted to strike out at Johnny for letting Dizzy get in this kind of trouble...again. But Dizzy was no longer his responsibility, and to be honest, he didn't need to start up another conflict now. Soundlessly, he turned around and walked away from the scene.

He had a forest to protect after all...

* * *

As the Jellyfish crew began to move toward Ky and Dizzy, also looking upon the scene was a battered Sol, with a still-unconscious Axl slung over his shoulder. During his fight with Vengeance, he been knocked back through a wall and was out of it for a while. He had revived just in time to see Dizzy's unleashing and Vengeance's destruction. When Dizzy lost control however, he began to to move in to stop her, only to stop when he saw Ky successfully reaching her and her powers calming down.

With Vengeance eliminated, there was no more of a reason for Sol to be there. So after retrieving Axl from the wreckage, he made his way off, unseen by everyone else. However, he paused and looked back at the embracing pair. Ky seemed to have fallen into unconsciousness and the crew had moved in to help him. As they made their way to their ship, Dizzy made sure to keep close to him. Sol snorted in half-humor.

_'A gear and a knight... I'll be damned.'_


	17. Final

Disclaimer: See previous chapter

* * *

Chap. 16

_

* * *

_

Light...

_Then pain..._

_'Why is this familiar...?'_

Weakly, the blue eyes of the officer slowly opened. What was blurry at first began to clear and he was able to make out a ceiling. _A very familiar ceiling..._ Working to clear his mind as well as his eyes, Ky tried to remember...well everything. His eyes cleared more and the ceiling began to show more detail. Blinking, his eyes turned to the side where a window showed the night sky, of which too, was familiar. It didn't take long for Ky to realize just where he was.

_'The Mayship...?'_

The question of how he got there flickered briefly in his mind before the memory of the battles resurfaced. The fight with Testament which was followed by a rematch with Vengeance, teaming up with Sol, Dizzy's arrival...

_'Dizzy!'_

He almost snapped up from the bed, but the pain from his back flared and stopped him before he could rise. As he settled and the pain dulled, he realized that there was a weight on him. Turing to look, he couldn't see much as the room was dark. However, there was enough light to make out the faint outline of hair, which began to stir and pretty soon, Ky was faced with a soft, worried gaze from vermillion eyes.

"Ky! You're awake."

"Dizzy..." He tried to rise again, but winced in pain, both from that and from answering Dizzy. It was then that he saw the bandages around his lower waist and then remembered more of the details of the battle; particularly how his back had been hurt in Vengeance's energy blast (the first one). Also, there was a patch on his jaw, a reminder of when Vengeance had kicked him in the jaw. His thoughts of the fight soon vanished when a delicate hand was placed on his chest after the surge of pain and settling him back.

"Please, don't move." Dizzy said with caution. "You were hurt pretty badly."

A silent groan escaped his lips and then he asked (while trying not to hurt his jaw further). "How...? How long...?"

"You've been unconscious for almost two days."

Again his thought went back to the battle. Giving the energy he had used, he found that he wasn't surprised for being out for that long. He had pushed himself into deflecting the energy cannon of Vengeance in the attempt to shield Dizzy and it had worked, but he was badly weakened by it. But then afterward...

"I remember...light... seeing you...crying."

"Yes. I lost control of my powers again." Her eyes lowered briefly and then lifted again to his gaze. "But then...you helped me, somehow."

"I'm glad..." he smiled automatically. Seeing that her hand hadn't moved from his chest, Ky slowly reached up and moved his hand over hers. "Have you...been watching me...all this time...?"

"Mm-hm..."

Ky soon took notice of light glitters soon shone on her cheeks. Slowly, his hand lifted up from her hand and settled gently on her cheek, taking in the moisture that was there.

"You're...crying again."

With a radiant smile, Dizzy leaned into his palm, with her hand rising and covering over his. More tears flowed from her cheeks, but her smile remained.

"I'm just so happy you're awake now.

"Me too."

* * *

And so the days of his recovery aboard the Mayship were renewed. It was almost as though he had never departed to begin with. The only major difference was with Dizzy. Where she was once a repeated presence with Ky, now she was a constant presence. She had taken over as Ky's nurse in this instance. June didn't argue about it thought. On the contrary, she was all too happy to let her do so.

Just so long as she and May could walk in on them...'accidentally', of course...

* * *

"Okay. We can take these off now."

Nodding, Ky lifted his arms as Dizzy sat at his side and reached around to unwrap the bandages that were around his body. Carefully, the young gear unwrapped the straps off from around Ky, making sure that everything was healed. Ky felt a slight chill as his skin was slowly exposed to the air, but said nothing of it and continued to hold his arms up. Finally, the straps were removed and Dizzy bent over to his back to examine it. The skin was slightly pink and there were a few traces of light scarring, but beyond that, he was healed. Her right hand reached to graze over the scars and Ky stiffened.

"Did that hurt?"

"No, no."

It was quite the opposite in fact. Another chill had gone through Ky, not from the cool air, but from her hand. And as she continued to graze along, Ky had to focus so as to keep from trembling under her warm touch. It also didn't help that as she did so, her left hand settled lightly on his abdomen. Even more, her right hand had stopped moving and stayed in one place on his back.

"Dizzy...?"

His words came out in a near choke, but Dizzy heard him enough to look up at him. Abruptly... What he didn't know was that Dizzy was also affected by the actions she had taken. While she had started by just examining his scars, it turned into...something else, and she ended up falling into a light massage. And when her left hand touched his abdomen, she stopped, feeling a rush of heat on her face. And now, as she looked up at him and rose from the side, his arm, which he had been holding up, now came to be atop of hers.

The fact that they were both sitting on the bed together was not lost on them either...

Both their face was flushed red, but neither looked away from each other. Wonder and fascination mixed with confusion and uncertainty as they gazed at each other. Time seemed to have frozen in place as they seemed to be trying to figure out what to do, yet at the same time, they both _knew_ what they _wanted_ to do. It was simply a question of who made the first move.

"Hey...!"

The door opened, bringing Ky and Dizzy out of their little world. May and June entered in and paused at the doorway upon looking at the scene. Dizzy with both her hands on him, Ky with his arm atop of her and without a shirt, and the two of them in dangerously close proximity to each other _and_ seated on a bed... Needless to say, there was little imagination needed to conjure up what was going on here in the minds of the two newcomers.

"My, my..." June smirked. "Are we interrupting something?"

His face reddening further, Ky managed to sputter out. "It...it's not what you think."

The nurse was not dissuaded as her smirk grew into a full-blown grin. "Oh really. And what am I thinking, hm?"

"I...was...removing his bandages." Dizzy tried to defend, her cheeks deeply flushed as well.

"But that doesn't explain why you have your hands all over him." May countered. Placing her hands on her hips, she shook her head. "Honestly Dizzy, I didn't think you would be moving this fast."

"I wasn't...I mean...we wasn't...I don't..."

* * *

Needless to say, that was the most embarrassing moment for the pair and May and June made it a point to check on them more frequently, all the while teasing them about it. Regardless of this, the two remained close together. So much so in fact that there were many mornings where Dizzy would be found asleep beside him. Johnny was a little worried upon hearing about that. While Ky may be a perfect gentleman, there were just some things you grew wary about, like when a man and a woman are left alone in the same room for a time. But he refrained, knowing that once Ky healed fully, he would have to leave.

Again...

He figured they were both aware of that and thus, they spent as much time together as possible. But Johnny knew the flip side to that. The more they were together; the harder it would be for them to separate once the time came. But it couldn't be helped. After what he witnessed at the battle, there was no doubt that the two cared very much for each other. Dare he say, they were in _love_. It was fun to tease about at first (especially to Ky), but now Johnny was wondering just how serious this would get.

And what would happen as a result.

* * *

"I can't believe we have to say goodbye so soon. It's like you just got here."

On the deck of the Mayship, a few of the crew, including May and June were there to see Ky off. Right now, June had him in a hug (a light one, keeping in mind his recent injuries) and she was a bit surprised that he easily returned it.

"I know what you mean."

"Anyway, remember our invite." May said, stepping forward to hug him as well. "You can visit us any time you'd like."

Hugging her as well, Ky replied. "I would like that, but I think that's up to your captain."

"Oh why not?" he shrugged. "Just as long as you're in one piece next time."

Sheepishly, the young man scratched the back of his head. "I'll try."

"Anyway, we better get going. Keep the ship in one piece 'till we get back."

The two headed for the dropship with the crew waving their goodbyes. Oddly enough, Dizzy was not one of the crew waving at them. In fact, she wasn't among the group at all. But then again, maybe it wasn't so odd...

Considering the fact that she was already waiting on the dropship...

* * *

"Take your time."

Nodding a thank you to Johnny, Ky and Dizzy walked a little ways from the dropship. Johnny had landed in an distant area along a beach shore. It was far enough not to catch anyone's attention, but close to enough so that Ky can return to civilization. A part of Ky wondered if Johnny chose this location on purpose. The sun was setting and the wind blew lightly about.

His gaze shifted over to Dizzy, who strode beside him, playing with the sand with her feet and holding her arms to her back.. It was such an adorable sight that he couldn't help but smile. Her gaze soon turned and lifted to meet his and Ky's mouth parted slightly in a silent gasp. The light wind was causing their hair to dance around her features, partially shadowing her eyes. But that didn't take away from her gaze. Soft and delicate, and yet also sharp and alluring.

"I wish I could stay with you."

The young man turned to her, so that they were facing each other. "Or perhaps...I could stay with you."

Dizzy's eyes widened, not only at his proclamation, but the sincerity she saw in his eyes. He really...means that...?' Shaking her head, Dizzy replied. "No. This is where you belong. Not me." She lowered her head. "At least, not until I can control my powers."

"But you were able to." Ky countered. "During that battle, you were able to stop yourself."

Again, she shook her head. "No. I stopped because you helped me." Her face lifted with a bright smile. "But because of that, I think I can learn more on how to control it on my own."

"Then I'm glad I could help."

"This is for you."

Dizzy then brought her arms forward, revealing what she had holding; a small package. . Ky gently took the gift from her hands and opened it. He blinked in surprise as he saw what her gift was. _'The teacup...'_ The very same cup that she had served him tea with after he had recovered from his fever.

"I couldn't..."

"Please." Dizzy interrupted. "It will be something to remember me by."

"Thank you. But I won't need this to remember you, Dizzy."

At this, Dizzy lifted her head, her cheeks shaded in pink. It couldn't be helped. After all, it wasn't everyday that such a handsome fellow complimented her in that manner. And as she gazed on his features, she realized that fact even more. The way his blue eyes stood out against his blond hair gave him a striking, yet compassionate appearance.

_Like a true knight... _

"I wanted to give you something too..."

Ky lowered his gaze to his side and reached into a pocket of his uniform, pulling out a neatly folded sheet of paper. Dizzy's gaze became curious as he unfolded the sheet. Ky let out a light sigh as he finished opening the sheet.

"...but this was all I could come up with."

"What is it?" Dizzy inquired tilting her head slightly.

"A poem. I wrote it some time ago. I thought... to give you something to remember me by. I'm not much of a writer, but...it is how I feel."

Ky handed her the paper and Dizzy took it. Her eyes slowly scanned the words as she read them to herself. She silent for a long while as she read the paper, so much so that Ky began to worry. Her eyes were simply focused on the paper he gave her; her face neutral and unreadable. Finally, she lowered the paper away, but kept her head down with her hair shrouding over her eyes

"Diz...?"

A whoosh of motion cut him off and Ky blinked to find his sides were flanked by feathers. What was really surprising was that the feathers, the wings, were not the miss-matched color of blue-white and black. But rather, they were both shining in a light golden hue. Dizzy's entire body appeared to be glowing in gold in match with the setting sun. Her voice came out in a whisper, and was carried to him in the wind.

"Do...you really mean...all of this?"

Carefully pocketing the gift she gave him, Ky stepped closer to her and took her hands, with the paper still in grasp between them. The young man felt her body radiate with warmth, calming the nervousness he felt as he spoke his feelings in the same wind-carried whisper as she had.

"Yes. You are my angel...and my love."

Her wings closed further around him as she raised her face to meet his gaze. Her eyes were watery, but there were no tears. Rather, there was the smile that was written in the poem. That most cherished, beautiful smile...

"Oh, Ky..."

Their faces, already close, began to drift closer together. Their bodies touched, allowing them to feel the racing heartbeats of the other. But they didn't stop and their eyes began to shut upon their closing proximity. With so much emotion and passion swelling within them, there was no way their lips would stop from meeting together.

_So this is what love feels like..._

After what felt like a millennium, the two parted, but not completely. Listening to the soft breathing of the other, their faces remained close, with their foreheads resting upon each other and their eyes still closed. Neither had ever felt this way before and neither wanted this moment to end. But they both knew that it would. But that didn't matter. Their feelings would remain long after this.

"We will see each other again, Dizzy." Ky promised upon her lips.

Their eyes slowly opened and they gazed at each other; striking aquamarine to light vermillion. Her right hand eased out of Ky's grasp and reach up to caress his cheek. In all her life, she had never felt this happy before. _No..._ This was beyond happy. She didn't know what word could describe what she was feeling, but she knew what she felt. And it was upon these feelings that she returned the promise with one of her own, venturing closer to him as she did.

"I'll be waiting for you."

And with that, they sealed their promises with another kiss, with Dizzy letting the poem in her hand to flitter about in the light wind, with the sunset sky to read the words upon them...

_Dizzy..._

_You drew near me with a smile serene_

_A cherished sight, a wonderful scene_

_With the gentle eyes of a innocent dove_

_You became my angel, my love_

_To know you would share with me such gifts rare_

_That I would return such to the heart of a gear_

* * *

_Once again, I would like to thank those who reviewed the last story and to those who would (hopefully) review this one as well. But even if you don't and you just read it, I hope you enjoy it. Hm. I may have to rewrite some of my other fanfics as well._

_Anyway, Sayonara...for now._


End file.
